When All Seems Lost
by mentalarithmeticspoon
Summary: When Voldemort and his Deatheaters finally manage to break up "The Golden Trio" by sending Hermione to a place that she may never return from, all seems lost...
1. Chased

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters used hereafter.

**CHAPTER 1: CHASED**

The wind rushed past her ears in torrents as she darted quickly through the forest ducking under branches and leaping over fallen logs. Behind her she could hear the sounds of people shouting and in front she could hear the sound of hooves beating on the hard earthy ground. She could feel her breath beginning to catch in her chest as she pushed on, kept going only by the fear of what would happen if she stopped and they caught her. Ahead she could see the sleek outline of a large leopard bounding along and further ahead still, the larger more angular outline of a tall, gangly stallion.

It was then that she burst out of the forest and into the dazzling sunlight, which momentarily blinded and disorientated her. She stopped, turning her head from side to side desperately sniffing at the air. All she could smell was the scent of death in the air and that of the people who were quickly gaining on her. She dashed forward going up and over the small grassy hill in front of her.

In the distance she saw the leopard and the stallion come to a standstill. Without another moments thought she put on another burst of speed and pulled up beside them. They turned to face her, their eyes filled with fear, and then looked back to where they had been looking. A cliff. They'd run straight to the edge of a cliff.

Turning the three saw the group of people in cloaks approaching them. More slowly now though, knowing the sorry predicament that the three were in. The three all looked at each other and without a sound being uttered each knew in their minds what the others were thinking. They stood level with one and other, the leopard in the middle, clearly the leader, the stallion to his left and her, a white wolf, to the leopard's right. The three readied themselves for the oncoming attack, bodies tensed, hair raised, teeth bared.

The people in cloaks approached, each with a wand raised and pointed at the three. As they drew closer it was apparent that each was wearing a mask hiding his or her true identity.

One of the figures stepped forward, his wand pointed straight at the leopard, "Well, well, well Mr. Potter. It would seem that you and your friends are in quite the predicament, wouldn't it?" the voice that she recognized as Lucius Malfoy's sneered through the mask, "You seem to be in quite a spot of bother, and with none of your beloved Order members or that fool of a mudblood lover Dumbledore to save you." At this the leopard stepped forwards dangerously as though threatening the cloaked man to go on. "Touched a sore spot did I?" sneered Malfoy through the mask. At this statement the leopard leaped forward pouncing on Malfoy, clawing at him with his powerful claws and biting with sharp jaws. The stallion and wolf followed suit leaping upon the nearest of the cloaked figures knocking them to the ground, and so a scuffle began. Shouts of "STUPEFY!" were heard from all over, snarling and growling was heard.

The scuffle did not last long though. The stallion was the first to fall being the largest and least agile, he was the easiest target. A well placed "STUPEFY!" from Bellatrix Lestrange hit him right in the centre of the chest and sent him tumbling to the ground, where he reverted back into the form of a tall, gangly red headed boy of seventeen and lay still. With a roar of anger the leopard launched himself at Lestrange knocking her to the ground but before he knew what was happening, four or so wands were on him all followed by a yell of "STUPEFY!" He too fell to the ground in a heap and changed back into a short, thin boy with emerald green eyes and a lightning bolt scar running across his forehead.

With the two larger animals (now changed back into boys) taken care of, all attention was turned to the smaller white wolf that was darting to and fro biting at anything she could in an attempt to get to her fallen comrades.

It was hopeless though as the large group all yelled, "STUPEFY!" and she was hit sending her world into blackness. In what felt like no time at all, she was awoken by someone muttering "Enervate". Forcing her eyes open she saw that she was still at the cliffs edge surrounded by the Deatheaters. Turning her head quickly, despite the headache it gave her, she searched desperately for any sign of Harry or Ron before seeing the two, now tied up by ropes and gagged, not too far away. The two looked at her as she struggled to sit up while tied up and gagged herself, fear in their eyes.

Behind her she heard footsteps. She turned to face whoever it was and came face to face with a very expensive looking pair of shoes. She knew exactly whom they belonged to even before she looked up into the pale face of the man before her. Lucius Malfoy, father of that complete pain in the arse Drano Malfoy and one of Voldemorts head Deatheaters.

He knelt down beside her and gripped her face with a vice like grip causing her to wince. "Hello my dear. Enjoying yourself?" he sneered and let go of her face roughly. Hermione stared into his cold grey eyes, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of knowing he was getting to her. "Well," he said standing up and twirling his wand between his fingers, "you three have been a right pain to say the least but now we finally have you." He pushed a gloved hand through his long platinum hair and continued, "I'm supposed to deliver you to the Dark Lord now, but I think I'd rather have a little fun with you first if my colleagues don't mind that is." This wasn't so much of a question, as a statement and the three knew that there was no way any of the surrounding Deatheaters would object to a little torture session.

"Now then," continued Malfoy, "which one of you shall I start with? Potter? No, I don't think so. Save the best for last, that's what my mother used to say you know. How about weasel? (A name for Ron that he had no doubt picked up from his son). I could, but somehow I don't think he would be up to much, it would be over to quickly for my liking." He turned to look straight into Hermione's eyes. "The Mudblood then? I always did like you the least of the three." He went on as he strolled away from the two boys and towards Hermione, who tensed her whole body and closed her eyes tight ready for the imminent pain, but it didn't come. "You see, I always had respect for young Potter over there. He's been through so much yet he still keeps going and fighting back. A worthy opponent one might say. Then we have Weasley over there," he jabbed a finger in Rons direction, "he comes from a pureblood family. Now, I will admit, it's certainly not the finest of families, in fact quite the opposite, but at least his blood is clean. You on the other hand, have dirty blood. The most vile kind. And you're an insufferably know it all to top it all. Lord knows they probably get pissed off with your constant preaching to them. You I hate most of all. So I'm going to start with you"

He raised his wand to point straight at Hermione and yelled "CRUCIO!" at the top of his lungs. It was even worse than she had previously felt under torture from other Deatheaters. Perhaps because they did not hate her as much as he. It was as though someone was stabbing her over and over with hot knives in all her vital organs. She resisted the urge to scream not wanting to give him any satisfaction.Suddenly the pain stopped and she sat up again gasping for breath. An evil grin was developing on Malfoys face, "What's that Granger? You don't want to scream for us? How terribly inconsiderate. I hate inconsiderate people you know; we should teach you a lesson in manners. STAND UP!" He yelled at her, forcibly grabbing her by the upper arm and throwing her down again on a nearby rock formation. She felt her left side crunch and a white-hot pain shot up through her left arm. This time, she screamed. "What's that Granger? You don't like getting a few little cuts and bruises?" He picked her up again and this time with a flick of his wand sent her flying into a nearby tree. She felt a sharp pain shoot through her back.

She lay on the ground afraid to move. Malfoy approached her again and lifted her up with ease. He threw her forwards onto her face again, pointing his wand at her and muttered a laceration spell. He cut her over and over again until she was lying in a small puddle of her own blood and her vision had gone blurry. "And now for my final trick," he announced to the apparently amused group of Deatheaters who spectated along with a horrified Harry and Ron, "I shall send the Mudblood to a destination that she will surely never come back from as she is of no use to our Master."

He picked up the severely injured Hermione who was on the verge of fainting and slung her over his shoulder, striding over to the edge of the cliff. Harry and Ron both tried to leap up to her rescue thinking that he was going to throw her over the edge of the cliff, but were quickly subdued by other Deatheaters around them.

They watched in horror as Malfoy carried Hermione's limp form over to the edge of the cliff and with a flick of his wand floated her out over the edge so she was hanging limply in mid-air helpless. He began to mutter some sort of incantation that neither Harry nor Ron had ever heard before, but it was apparent that Hermione had. Her head snapped up in horror as she realized what was about to happen to her. She looked from the group of laughing Deatheaters to the eyes of her best friends lying on the ground bound by ropes. "Harry... Ron..." she managed to whisper in a voice that was barely audible to the two, blood trickling from her mouth, staring into their eyes, her own chocolate brown ones filled with fear, "I..."

**A/N: This is the first chapter. I'm pretty happy with it but if any of you guys haves and suggestions/corrections please review and mention it. I hope to make this a decent story but I am in no way a great writer. Thanks for reading and please review!**


	2. Rescued

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters used hereafter.

CHAPTER 2: RESCUED

Harry and Ron just stared, eyes wide with shock, at the spot that Hermione had been floating in moments before. What had happened to her? How could she just disappear like that? What had Malfoy done?

The two were snapped back to reality by a cold, manic laughter. It was Malfoy. He was laughing, it seemed, uncontrollably as though he had finally managed to do something he'd spent his whole life trying to do. Slowly the other Deatheaters started to join in. It was sickening. How could they just laugh? Harry was filled with so much rage that he leaped up, his arms bound tightly by his side, and ran straight for the nearest Deatheater knocking him over. The laughter stopped and all the Deatheaters pulled out their wands and trained them on Harry. "Now, now Harry" came Bellatrix's voice from underneath one of the masks, "that mudblood got exactly what she deserved." Harry tried to speak but the piece of cloth stuffed in his mouth and down his throat made him choke.

By now Ron was on his feet too, his face bright red and his anger radiating. Ron managed to spit out his gag. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO HER? YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS YOU BASTARDS!" he yelled at them spit flying from his mouth and a look of pure disgust on his face. "You stupid weasel, I can see why they called her the brains of the group. You two are hopeless, you cant even tell a simple spell when you see one?" an evil smirk played on Malfoys face, "She knew what it was. She knew what was going to happen to her. "STOP TALKING ABOUT HER IN THE PAST TENSE YOU BASTARD! SHE CAN'T BE DEAD!" "Oh no, Weasley, she's not dead. Just a bit LOST if you get what I mean." "I DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU..." but Rons words were drowned out by screams of pain from the surrounding Deatheaters as each fell to the ground writhing in pain. Ron sent Harry a questioning look, but Harry just dropped to the ground. Ron copied him.

After the chaos had ended and all the Deatheaters were lying on the ground incapacitated, there was an eerie silence. The two boys lay face down on the ground neither daring to move.

Shortly they heard footsteps approaching an each felt himself being pulled up by the scruff of the neck and planted firmly on his feet. Looking up they came face to face with a grim looking Kingsley Shacklebot. It was The Order. 'They're here to help. Everything will be all right.' thought Harry. Kingsley quickly undid the bindings on the two boys and strode off to check if any of the Deatheaters were still conscious.

The sound of someone clearing their throat behind them made the two swing around and come face to face with Remus Lupin. "Where's Hermione?" he asked a look in his eyes that said he suspected the worst. "We... We don't know. It was Malfoy. He did something to her... She just... disappeared." said Harry. Lupin tensed up "She's dead? Was it some sort of spell?" "She's not dead..." whispered Ron. Harry opened his mouth but then closed it again. He was completely lost for words. He couldn't remember the incantation Malfoy had cast which meant there was little hope of reversing it. He looked to Ron for help. "He said she was 'lost' somewhere," continued Ron in a disturbingly quiet voice compared to his recent outburst, looking at Harry as he said it. Lupin looked from one to the other, his face now expressionless. "Don't worry, we'll find out what he did to her and get her back. Dumbledore will know what to do." he put a hand on each of the boys' shoulders and steered them away from the site of destruction that surrounded them.

Picking up a discarded shoe on the way he muttered the spell that would turn it into a portkey to Dumbledore's office. "Here," he said, "take this to Dumbledore's office and wait for him there. Then you can tell him everything that happened." With that he turned and walked back to start the clean up. Harry and Ron looked at each other and then each extended a finger and touched the old shoe. Both felt the familiar tug somewhere around their naval the naval and watched as the world dissolved around them. With a thud their feet collided with the floor of Dumbledore's office.

Both staggered for a moment but regained their balance. Traveling by portkey was never a fun experience. Both boys collapsed gratefully into the chairs in front of Dumbledore's desk, neither really believing that he was really there. It was all so like a dream. How could she just be gone? This was worse than if she'd actually died. She was out there somewhere all alone. Usually the many instruments lying around Dumbledore's office would have fascinated both, but today neither even noticed them.

As the two sat in a daze, neither noticed Dumbledore step out of the fireplace and sit down in front of them. When neither moved Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Harry, Ron, I heard what happened to Hermione. Or at least what you told Remus, but right now I really need you to tell me exactly what happened so we can help her." the usual twinkle in his eyes was gone and they were filled with sorrow. Harry, looking up and noticing that Ron had now gone past his initial rage and was too lost in his thoughts to notice anything going on around him, sat up straighter to address Dumbledore.

"Well you see sir," he began, his trembling slightly, "As you know we've been trying to figure out a way to get Sirius back from behind that veil." Dumbledore nodded for him to go on. "We snuck out last night to go to the Department of Mysteries and investigate the veil ourselves. We were there for a while, Hermione had her books out flicking through them searching for anything that could help us while Ron and I tried to find something that could help us figure it out. While we were all distracted by this somebody must have sneaked in because when we were just about to leave we all noticed that the door was wide open when we knew we'd closed it behind us. We decided to find out who it was so we followed all the open doors until we came to one that we heard voices behind. Through a crack in the door we could see Deatheaters all huddled around something. It was then that one of them, who had apparently been out looking for something, was suddenly standing behind us. He shouted for the others to come quick so we ran for the exit but found it blocked. It was then that Hermione pulled us towards one of fireplaces in the entrance hall that was still lit and used flu powder to get us out of there. I don't know what the name of the place she took us was, but it was out of the Ministry so I didn't care. We were in a small house in the middle of a forest so we ran out knowing that the Deatheaters would soon follow and that our best chance was to run and hide." at this point he chose to leave out the part about being animagi, "We ran for ages through the forest, we could hear them behind us. Eventually we managed to break free of it and ran out through a field but then we came upon a cliff, the one that the Order members found us on. We couldn't go any further and the Deatheaters were right behind us so we turned and readied ourselves for them. When they came, we attacked them but they outnumbered us and quickly overpowered us. When we came to Ron and I were bound up and it appeared that they had only just managed to subdue Hermione. Malfoy started to talk; he said that he wanted to have some fun with us before he brought us to Voldemort. He decided that he was going to torture Hermione first. So he cast the cruciatus curse on her. When she didn't scream he grabbed her and threw her down. Her left arm made a horrible crunching sound which he seemed to enjoy so he threw her against a tree and she hit her back pretty hard. Then she just lay there on the ground not moving. I though she was dead, but then he picked her up again and threw her down in front of him. He kept casting laceration spells on her cutting her over and over until she had lost a lot of blood. Then he levitated her over the side of the cliff and started to mutter some sort of incantation on her. I can't remember what it was exactly but he said that he was sending her somewhere that she'd never come back from. He said she was 'lost'. Then The Order turned up and Lupin sent us here to you."

It felt good to get it all out and Harry was glad that Dumbledore let him without interruption. Dumbledore stood and walked over to a cabinet where he took out his pensieve. "You have been through a lot, although you have been through more before. I will ask one more thing of you before you go to the hospital wing. I would like you to open your mind to me and allow me to extract your memories of tonight so I may examine them. It will also clear your mind. You may have the memory back when I am finished it you wish, but that is up to you. I will take Mr. Weasley's as well in case there is something in his that is not in yours." Harry nodded. Ron didn't even respond but Harry knew he wouldn't object. Dumbledore raised his wand to Harry's temple, which cleared his mind of all but that night's memory, and extracted the long silver thread from it and placed it in the pensieve. He did the same to Ron and then nodded to Harry who helped Ron up from his seat and lead him to the door. Where was Hermione right now? Would they ever see her again?

A/N: This is sort of a filler chapter with some background stuff. I don't want to rush this story too much. Believe me it's hard not to just go right ahead and spill all the beans right now. There are still some parts that I'm unsure of anyway but it will all come together in the end (I hope). I'll be updating quite regularly, probably twice a week, but definitely at least once. Thanks for reading and please review!

**And now some acknowledgements:**

**PaulC: I don't think writing is my strong point, or at least Mr. Bredin and all my past English teachers don't. Yes you DO like spacing things but I do know what you mean that it's easier to read. Thanks for being my first reviewer**

**amrawo: Thanks. I never thought people would actually like it. I hope you like this chapter as much as you say you liked the first one.**

**whogirl: Sorry, you'll have to wait until the next chapter to find out what the spell did ;) . I don't want to rush things too much. Thanks for reviewing.**

**Remmy's Gurl: Hehe, I know. I'm really bad when it comes to leaving things as cliffhangers. I love doing it though; it makes the story more exciting I think. I'm not so good at grammar myself. I'm flattered that you think it's so good blushes Thanks for reviewing and UPDATE 'SUDDENLY DIFFERENT"! I WANNA KNOW WHAT HAPPENS! Evil cliffhangers… lol**


	3. Dimensions

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters used hereafter.

**CHAPTER 3: DIMENSIONS**

Hermione was floating; where exactly she was she didn't know. She could be anywhere. The pain was almost unbearable, every inch of her body felt like it was on fire. Her mind was spinning as she tried to remember what had happened. She remembered fear and then pain. A lot of pain. Slowly her mind began to remember what had happened as images of the cliff came back to her. Images of Harry and Ron tied up and lying on the ground surrounded by Deatheaters. Images of herself being tortured mercilessly. Images that she wanted to be just a dream, but she knew they weren't. They were real.

Her eyelids fluttered as she urged them to open. They opened a small amount and she winced with the pain and effort it caused her. She couldn't see anything. Everything was so dark. Dark and cold. Her body gave an involuntary shiver. She lifted her head and turned it slowly from side to side hoping to see something, anything. Nothing. The movement made her nauseous so she stopped. Where was she? How had she gotten here? Where were Harry and Ron?

Then it all came back to her. That spell! The one Malfoy used on her! She was lost. Lost between dimensions with no way back. As if the pain she was already in wasn't enough, she retched involuntarily spilling the contents of her stomach and leaving a sour taste in her mouth. All she could do was wait. Wait for death to come and take her away. Wait for peace.

As she floated, Hermione thought of all the people she loved. She knew they'd be trying to find her, but she also knew they had no chance. To start with they didn't know what the spell was and secondly she'd never read of anyone being brought back from such a dire situation. Floating through the blackness she began to sob silently, tears rolling down her cheeks. 'Please let it end soon.' She thought to herself. 'Just make it quick.'

Harry and Ron sat in the library, the only light source a small candle that was nearing the end of its life. Books were scattered everywhere, pages of spells and incantations surrounded them. They'd been desperately searching for the spell that had taken Hermione away from them. It had been almost a week since she been lost. Dumbledore had since examined their memories. He had managed to learn a few of the key words used in the incantation and now it was up to Harry and Ron to find the right one. "Here, look at this one." Said Ron interrupting the silence, "It has almost all the same words as the list Dumbledore gave us." Harry looked up, his face expectant, but it fell almost straight away, "No mate, it's tempus that we're looking for. That's tempum."

"Oh, sorry. It's just that it's identical other than that. I guess I'm just tired." Harry smiled at his other best friend weakly. "Don't worry mate, we'll get her back soon. I think we should take a break to get something to eat for now though. We're no use to her if we die of starvation you know." Ron smiled back weakly, "You're right. Let's go, and come back quick so we can get through a few more books before bed" The two stood and walked out of the library towards the great hall.

After half an hour of pushing food around their plates both boys returned to the library and began searching again. After only a few minutes Harry leapt up out of his seat, a wide grin on his face. "I've found it!" he yelled, his happiness radiating from him, "Quick Ron, let's go show Dumbledore!" Ron, who had gone into shock, shook himself and leapt up to follow Harry running out of the library. They dashed through the corridors towards the principal's office at break neck speed and came to a skidding halt opposite the gargoyle statue. "LEMON DROPS!" yelled Harry as he hopped from foot to foot impatiently "Come on… Come on… Open faster…" Before the gargoyle had fully turned to reveal the staircase to Dumbledore's office he and Ron were up it and banging on the door. "Come in." came Dumbledore's calm voice from behind the door. The two pushed through the door and began talking rapidly at the same time to the old man. Dumbledore cleared his throat, a slight twinkle in his eye. "I take it from your happy faces and sudden animation compared to the last few days that you've found the spell in question? He smiled. "Yes," panted Ron, "Now we can get her back!"

"Very good. May I see it?" he asked nodding pointedly to the book still in Harry's hand. Harry handed him the book and sank into one of the chairs in front of Dumbledore's desk. He hadn't been happier in a long time. She was coming home. When he had finished reading the page Dumbledore looked up at the two. "Well, it would seem that it is indeed the correct spell. However," Harry did not like the sound of that and he sat up straight to face Dumbledore, "While the book does state exactly how to reverse the spell, it does also mention that it can be inaccurate."

"What do you mean sir?" asked Harry concerned. "Well Harry, Hermione is trapped in between dimensions correct?"

"Yes, you already told us that, but what does it have to do with getting her back?" Dumbledore looked grimly at the two boys, "Everything I'm afraid. You see, she was ripped right out of our reality and into 'nowhere' as such. She has been floating around in limbo for some time now. The problem is that there is no guarantee that she will be able to get off at the right place if you follow me."

"So what you mean sir is that it's like a train. She got on at one stop and wont be able to get off at the same one until the train does a whole circuit?"

"Exactly Mr. Weasley. Only a trains path only has so many stops along it, with dimensions there are so many that it could take forever to get back to the same one." Harry felt his heart sinking. They'd found a way to get her back, but not to where they wanted. Dumbledore turned to Harry. "Harry," he said softly, "I know she meant a lot to you. Both of you." He said looking at Ron too. "She must be in a lot of pain right now. Her injuries have not been treated, she probably hasn't slept, eaten or drank in over a week and she's all-alone. I think you know what we have to do." Ron's head snapped up, "You mean bring her back to some other time or reality?"

"Precisely. Do you not think it is for the best? If we leave her she will stay in limbo forever. If we bring her back to somewhere with other people she may be able to establish a new life for herself. There's even a tiny chance that she might be brought back her somehow. It can happen." The two boys nodded, it was for the best.

The next day preparations were made for the counter spell. Professor McGonagall called both boys out of class to be there at their request. They wanted to be there just in case. When everything was ready to go, Dumbledore turned to the boys. "Let us hope she is still alive" He turned and walked to the centre of the room and standing in a large glowing purple symbol on the ground began to chant the counter incantation. The circle began to glow and an outline of Hermione could be seen floating above the old mans head. Harry and Ron gasped. She was curled up not moving. Dumbledore stepped back, looking up at the image, "Hermione?" he said clearly, "Hermione, wake up." Hermione was still floating lost. She didn't know how long it had been and wasn't even sure if she was still alive. Suddenly out of the darkness came a voice. It was a strong clear voice. "Hermione, wake up." It said to her. Was she hearing things now? Had she finally gone mad? Forcing her eyes open she could see the faint outline of what appeared to be classroom. Just like the ones in Hogwarts. Lifting her head just a fraction so as not to make herself nauseous, Hermione opened her eyes further and blinked. It was definitely a classroom in Hogwarts. Confused she tried to call out to the voice. Her voice barely managed to escape her throat but she manages a weak "Who's there?" Harry and Ron watched as the outline of Hermione began to stir. They were even more shocked when it spoke in a weak, strained voice. "Who's there?" it asked. Dumbledore stepped forwards into Hermione's line of sight. "It's Dumbledore Hermione. You'll be okay now. Don't worry." Hermione felt so happy when she heard that Dumbledore was near. "Sir, did you find a way to bring me back?"

"Not quite Hermione," replied Dumbledore, "We cant bring you back to here and now but we can bring you back to somewhere and sometime." His voice was still so clear and strong. Hermione completely trusted him. "I understand sir. Please tell Harry and Ron that I love them." "They're right here Hermione, you can tell them yourself." Dumbledore stepped back and allowed the boys to move towards her. "Hermione?" Ron croaked, "How are you?"

"Ron? Is that you? I'm so glad to hear you. Is Harry there too?" Harry who had been silent stepped forwards "Yeah, I'm here Hermione." The outline of Hermione began to shake, her body racked with sobs. "My boys," she sobbed, "I've missed you both so much, and now I may never see you again. I love both of you more than anything else in the world." Harry's throat tightened and his eyes watered "We both love you so much too Hermione. You've always been there for us whether it was just doing homework or fighting along side us against Voldemort. We'll never forget you." A tear rolled silently down his cheek. "Please tell everyone else that I love them all too and I wont ever forget any of them." This was the hardest thing Hermione had ever had to do. It was killing her from the inside out. "We will 'Mione. Goodbye." Whispered Ron as Dumbledore stepped forwards to let them know it was time. "Goodbye" said Harry his voice hoarse as he stepped back too. "Good bye Harry, Ron." whispered Hermione.

Dumbledore stood in front of her now. "Hermione, it's time for you to go now. Everyone in this world will never forget you. You were a credit to witches and wizards your age all over the world. Goodbye and good luck."

"Thank you professor. I owe so much to you. Goodbye." Dumbledore stepped underneath the outline of Hermione and began to finish off the incantation and with a final flick of his wand she was gone. Harry and Ron just stared at the spot she had been and both began to cry uncontrollably. Professor McGonagall let out a whimper and hurried from the room. Dumbledore turned to the two boys. "Let us hope that she has gone somewhere with good people where she can settle down and live a normal life."

**A/N: This is the chapter where it's revealed what the spell did to Hermione. I hope I explained it well enough for you guys to understand. So now Hermione's been thrown into a strange place. That's gotta be fun. Please read and review.**

**Remmy's Gurl: Wow, thanks a million. That was really sweet of you. I've reviewed it now and all. Thanks again for your lovely review.**

**amrawo: thanks for the review. Your enthusiasm encourages me to write more.**

**need-courage-to-write: Thanks for the review. Now that you've said that I might just kill her to annoy you. That would come back to haunt me though as she's necessary for the rest of the story. As for showing Harry and Ron's reactions more I didn't want to do that because it's Hermione's pain. Not theirs. Thanks for the review.**

**PaulC: I don't care that you're late reviewing it. It's that you did in the end that counts! I wasn't sure if I did Dumbledore right, but now that you've said I did I'm all happy. Thank you! And about the English teachers… Maybe we should invite them to Games class too… ;) thanks so much for reviewing again! And update your stories again soon!**

**whogirl: thanks for the review and now finally you can see what the spell did. Sorry about the accidentally on purpose delay in revealing all ;)**

**Zimo: damn, and I thought I was being all mysterious and elusive ;). Thanks for the compliments on my writing. Yes you did say that and yes you should be beaten… it's only fair to society. I didn't know anyone else in our year liked anime/manga of any kind until Pauline started talking to me when we were in Italy (how weird). We all know how he can be. Guys with short hair suck, poor Paul got DT off Murphy for not cutting his. I don't want him to lose all his pretty hair! (clings to Pauls hair) ok… that's really weird, I'll stop now… see ya around, we should meet up sometime and catch up… and throw a few slags Pauls way too while we're at it…**


	4. Stranded

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters used hereafter.

CHAPTER 4: STRANDED

It was like being sucked down a plughole while being ripped apart into tiny pieces at the same time. Hermione had never felt so much pain before; she didn't even think it was possible. Her mind screamed out as everything around her became a blur of colours and the wind was knocked out of her. She had never felt so nauseous before in her whole life; if her stomach hadn't been empty she was convinced it would have left along with its contents.

Suddenly her feet collided with the ground; she felt her right leg cracking under the sudden weight. Staggering forwards, she tried to keep her balance on her one good leg but couldn't manage it and fell face forwards onto her face. She could feel the individual blades of grass stabbing her sensitive body like thousands of tine needles. Everything was spinning; the ground seemed to be rocking back and forth under her making her feel like she was going to fall off it. She was only vaguely aware of the sound of shouts and thundering footsteps that was getting closer. "Stand back!" she heard a voice shout before her mind gave in to the darkness and she blacked out.

When Hermione awoke, everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. She tried open her eyes but they wouldn't cooperate and she found it only made her nausea worse. Her limbs felt heavy and her head pounded; she couldn't think straight either. She was vaguely aware of footsteps approaching. They stopped beside her and she heard sounds of bottles clinking together before a spoon of some vile tasting liquid was pushed down her throat. She coughed most of it back up involuntarily. "Easy now dear, take it slowly" said a soothing voice Hermione found familiar but couldn't place. She felt a damp cloth on her forehead and she relaxed slightly drifting of into a deep sleep, no doubt induced by the liquid.

Hermione wavered in and out of consciousness for the next week or so, still to weak to move. She heard a number of people coming in and out of wherever it was that she was but could never concentrate long enough to gather what they were saying.

As the weeks progressed Hermione found herself getting stronger and being able to concentrate more on what was happening around her. From what she could hear, it sounded like she was in the hospital wing. This helped her relax more and she realised that the familiar voice must have been Madam Pomfrey. Why hadn't Harry and Ron been to visit though? Maybe she just hadn't been conscious when they did. Hermione forced her eyes open. It had been almost three weeks since she had been brought to the hospital wing she reckoned. The light reflecting off the white walls and ceiling of the hospital wing made her eyes sting but she was determined to keep them open. Her head was still pounding and she could feel every muscle in her body aching. She gritted her teeth and forced herself up on her elbows. Looking around she noticed that the hospital wing was slightly different to how she remembered it. Maybe it had been redecorated or something. She noticed that there was no one in the hospital wing. 'How unusual' she thought, 'Usually there are injured students here what with the war and all going on.' Sitting up proved to be more energy consuming than she thought and she ended up falling back into the bed. She lay there staring at the ceiling for a while before she heard shuffling footsteps approaching. It was Madam Pomfrey with a bottle of orange liquid and a spoon in her hand. "My goodness! You're awake! How do you feel?" she asked Hermione. Hermione tried to sit up again but Madam Pomfrey was on her in a minute pushing her back gently but firmly. "No, no dear. Don't try to get up yet. You're still weak. You gave us all quite the scare just turning up out of the blue like that and then being unconscious for these last few weeks without any signs of movement. The headmaster will want to talk to you soon I suppose." She said this last part more to herself than to Hermione but it helped her relax a bit. Dumbledore would be able to tell her what had happened and if Harry and Ron were all right. Hermione swallowed the liquid Madam Pomfrey gave her but it was hard to and her throat felt like it was on fire. "I'll just go and fetch him now dear. Don't you move until I get back now." With that she hurried out of the room leaving Hermione all alone again.

Minutes later she returned with Professor Dumbledore close at her heels. He smiled at her when he entered. There was something slightly different about him but Hermione pushed this out of her mind. Pulling up a chair he sat at the side of her bed while Madam Pomfrey helped her to sit up with the help of some pillows. "Hello my dear. It's good to see you awake and sitting up." He said smiling at her kindly. "Thank you sir." Said Hermione, her voice strained.

"Now then my dear, if you are feeling up to it I would like to ask you some questions." Hermione wondered why he kept calling her 'dear' but nodded to show that it was okay. "Thank you. First I would like to know your name. It would seem the best place to start wouldn't you agree?" he said, a slight twinkle in his eye.

'My name!' thought Hermione, 'How does he not know my name? Oh no… I haven't gone back to where I'm meant to be. Where am I though? Everything seems almost the same.'

Dumbledore cleared his throat, "My dear? Are you alright?"

Hermione jumped slightly, "I'm sorry. I'm fine I was just thinking. My name is Hermione Granger."

Dumbledore nodded, "Well Ms. Granger might I ask how you came to be falling from the sky?" he said this almost as though the thought of a girl falling from the sky amused him.

"Well sir, I'm not exactly sure myself," started Hermione, "If I could ask, what is the date? It might help to clear my memory."

Dumbledore looked at her as though he was deciding something but eventually said, "It's October 4th 1977 my dear."

Hermione felt her heart sinking. If she was right in her thinking, she had been sent back in time. 'It could be worse,' she thought to herself, 'I could be lost in some other dimension where everything is completely different' She looked up into Dumbledore bright blue eyes, "Sir, I think I've been sent back in time."

If Dumbledore was shocked he didn't show it in the slightest, instead he nodded for her to go on.

"Well sir, my friends Harr…." she couldn't say Harry and Rons' names, it might change something about the future, "My friends and I were being chased by these people and we were caught. They tortured us and then one of them cast a spell on me trapping me between dimensions and time. My friends tried to bring me back but the method they used wasn't exactly accurate so now I'm here."

Dumbledore nodded, "I have heard of such a spell before. It is extremely dark magic and I can only guess at who the people you are talking about are but I think I know. Unfortunately as of yet there is no way of sending you back. I will of course get some friends of mine to work on it, but for the time being you must stay here. I am guessing that you are one of my students in the future from the robes we found you in. What year are you?"

Hermione was shocked by the news that she couldn't go back straight away. It wasn't exactly going to be easy being stuck in the past. What if she changed something? "Se… Seventh year." She muttered.

Dumbledore looked thoughtful "You have your NEWTS this year then. This will be hard for you. What house might I ask?"

Hermione's eyes filled with tears at the thought everything that was happening to her "Gryffindor sir" she sniffed.

Dumbledore smiled encouragingly at her, "A fine house indeed. You will need that famous Gryffindor bravery to get through this, and I have no doubt that you will get through it Ms. Granger. So far you have been nothing but brave. I will inform the head of Gryffindor house, Professor McGonagall of your situation and she shall sort out your timetable and supplies. I will announce you arrival to the student at breakfast in the morning. We should think of a cover story so that you will not be asked too many questions. How about you are an exchange student from a small wizarding school in Germany? You're parents are now dead and you have been sent to school here for you're protection."

Hermione nodded to show she understood, "Yes sir, I think that would be best."

Dumbledore stood to leave, "Just one more thing, I'm not going to stop you from telling anyone the truth as there is probably a reason you have been sent back but please, be careful who you tell. If the future is anything like now you will know to be careful who you trust."

Hermione nodded. "Of course sir."

He turned to leave, "Oh yes, and the boys who found you have been asking to see you ever since they did. If Madam Pomfrey will allow it I'm sure they would be delighted to visit you. You can never have enough friends, especially in dire situations." He winked and turned to leave closing the door behind him silently.

Madam Pomfrey came back into the room after hearing him leave. "Now I can tend to you properly. You've suffered quite a lot of injuries. You have bruises and lacerations all over your back and limbs, which have only partially healed; your left arm was badly broken; some of the vertebrae in your spine were damaged too and your leg was almost snapped in two. I've healed most of them but it will be hard to walk or use your left arm for a while. The lacerations should disappear in time and your back will be sore for a while. It's a wonder that you were still alive when they found you. You were weak from lack of food and drink too from the looks of it. I'll be keeping you here for at least another week or two just to keep an eye on you, then you may go to classes." She read most of this off a piece of parchment she was holding. Hermione could tell she was enjoying having such a long list of things to heal. Just then the door to the hospital wing burst open and four figures fell in shortly followed by a fifth. When the four had straightened themselves out so that Hermione could see them properly and the fifth figure had moved to stand beside them, she let out a small gasp. "You're…"

A/N: This chapter was quite hard for me to write. I've been pretty sick recently but I wanted to update. I hope you'll all enjoy this chapter. Please read and review! Thanks.

Remmy's Gurl: Thank you, I wanted to show that she's in a lot of pain because she is. There's no point in saying something like "Oh yeah, and she got a little cut on her knee". It's just not interesting enough. You're absolutely right. Sorry about the conversations in the last chapter, I forgot to make sure it was ok, but I've sorted it out now so it shouldn't be a problem again. Yes, my English teacher's are evil. EVIL!

need-courage-to-write: Thanks Sinéad, your review is appreciated as usual, keep going with your story too, you could take it to great places. I sorted out the conversations in the last chapter too and finally; don't ever let Paul know you agreed with him. It'll only make his ego grow more and we don't want that ;).

amrawo: Thanks you, that many reallys is very flattering. I hope you enjoy this chapter as much.

whogirl: Thanks for the review, hope you enjoy this chapter too.

This chapter is dedicated to all you guys, you keep me writing with your lovely reviews.


	5. Friends

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters used hereafter.

CHAPTER 5: FRIENDS

Hermione could hardly believe her eyes. "You're…" she stammered, "You're…"

She didn't get a chance to finish what she was saying though. Madam Pomfrey was on the group in a flash, pushing them towards the door. "GET OUT! CANT YOU SEE THAT THIS YOUNG WOMAN IS IN A TERRIBLE STATE? HAVE YOU NOW CONSIDERATION AT ALL?" she yelled, her face turning red.

"Dumbledore said we could come visit her though!" protested one of the boys who had long black hair and steely grey eyes.

Hermione instantly recognised him as a younger, more energetic Sirius Black who had not yet seen the horrors that the Sirius she knew had. Seeing him standing there full of life overwhelmed Hermione and she let out an audible sob. "SEE? YOU'RE CAUSING THE YOUNG LADY A LOT OF DISTRESS!" yelled Madam Pomfrey, "You have to leave. NOW!"

Hermione however wanted them to stay. She wanted to see them all, to thank them for finding her and also, just to see them. They were familiar to her in this strange time. She had only ever met three of them in person before but that didn't matter. "Please," she croaked, "Let them stay, I'd like to thank them."

Madam Pomfrey turned to her obviously confused in shock as to why Hermione would want a band of raving idiots anywhere near her. She didn't object anymore though and walked into her office shaking her head and muttering about disruptive students.

The group grinned happily and walked over, seating themselves around and on Hermione's bed. "Thanks" said Sirius smiling.

He did look a lot happier than Hermione had ever seen him and he didn't have that hollowness in his eyes left behind from his time in Azkaban.

"My name is Sirius Black," he said bowing deeply.

"And these four idiots are, James Potter" He pointed to a boy with messy black hair, who apart from his eyes which were a dark brown could have been Harry's twin.

"Remus Lupin," He pointed to a young Professor Lupin who didn't look nearly half as tired as his future self and had long blonde hair that reached down to his shoulders.

"Peter Pettigrew," he pointed to a small plump boy with mousy hair and watery blue eyes who kept glancing around nervously.

"And finally, the delightful Ms. Evans." He pointed to the girl who Hermione knew to be Harry's mother. She was pretty with long red hair and those enchanting bright green eyes that she had passed onto her future son.

"Just Lily will do." Said Lily hitting Sirius playfully on the arm. Hermione smiled and nodded to each of them in acknowledgement.

Her eyes lingered on Peter for a moment as she wondered how such an innocent boy, so like Neville in many ways could turn out the way he did.

"So what's your name?" asked James interrupting her thoughts.

"Oh, um Hermione Granger. Nice to meet you." She said weakly.

"Hermione, that a very pretty name." Said Lily smiling at her.

"Thank you." Said Hermione.

"So how are you feeling?" asked Sirius who was sitting to her left, "Does it hurt much? You were pretty beat up when we found you."

Hermione looked at him, 'Sirius' she thought, 'always so direct with things.'

Smiling she said, "I'm very grateful for that. Thank you all. I'm feeling much better although I haven't been awake long. Madam Pomfrey says that most of my injuries should be healed in a week and then I can leave."

"A week!" exclaimed James, "Wow Padfoot, I think she's beaten your record and she's only been for two weeks" He hit Sirius playfully on the shoulder.

Sirius scowled, "She was injured before she came. It doesn't count."

"Oh shut up both of you!" laughed Lily, "Sorry about that Hermione, they can be very competitive."

"Don't I know it? My friends back home, Harry and Ron, they…" she stopped mid sentence. Thinking about Harry and Ron was painful; she missed them so much. They were like her family, even more sometimes.

"Are you okay Hermione?" asked Lily gently.

Hermione wiped away the tears that had been silently streaming down her face. "I'm sorry. I'm fine. I was just thinking of back home. I'll probably never see any of my family and friends again." She sniffed loudly.

The group all looked at her sympathetically. "We're sorry Hermione. If you ever want to talk about it we're all here for you." This was the first thing that Remus had said since entering the room.

Hermione smiled at him. "Thank you." She whispered. Remus smiled back.

"So what school did you go to before you came here?" he asked. "Oh, it was a small one in Germany" Hermione replied remembering what Dumbledore had suggested.

"That sounds nice, I've always wanted to visit Germany some time." Said James.

"So… um…" everyone turned to Peter who had finally decided to talk, "How was it that you came to be so beat up?" the other four all glared at him. Clearly they had been avoiding asking her that question. Peter winced under their glares but kept his watery eyes fixed on Hermione.

Hermione stiffened and stared back at him finding it difficult to hide the coldness in her eyes. "It was dark wizards." She said shortly, wanting to avoid talking to Peter at all costs afraid that she might loose it and attack him.

The others gasped and quickly forgot Peter's idiocy. "Oh my god, really?" asked Lily her eyes full of fear. Hermione nodded.

"That's terrible. Did they torture you?" asked Sirius. Hermione nodded again and began to sob, her memories of the torture overwhelming her.

Remus stood. "I think we should go now, Hermione needs some rest. Maybe you should stay with her for a while Lily?" Hermione was grateful to him, she didn't want any of them to see her cry but she didn't want to be alone either. The others all stood to leave saying their goodbyes. James had to pull Peter from the room. He seemed fascinated by what Hermione had said.

When they were gone, it was just Hermione and Lily left. Lily smiled at her kindly, "You should get some sleep now. I'm sorry about Peters question. He doesn't seem to understand sometimes."

Hermione nodded, her eyes still fixed on the door the boys had just left through. It was weird seeing them all alive and well. Hermione quickly fell into a deep sleep and when she awoke again Lily was gone.

The next week passed relatively quickly as Hermione spent a lot of her time sleeping. Madam Pomfrey wouldn't allow any more visitors so Hermione had no company at all.

She was glad when the day came that she was to leave. Dumbledore had been to tell her that Lily would escort her to the Gryffindor common room where all her supplies and new belongings had been brought. The morning of her release Hermione took a while to get out of bed. She hadn't been standing for quite some time and it took her a few minutes to get her balance.

When she could stand comfortably, Hermione began to change out of the gown she had been in and back into her own clothes which were in a neat pile at the end of the bed. While she was changing she heard the hospital wing door opening.

'That must be Lily' she thought. Hermione pulled on her trousers and pulled the gown up over the top of her head. As she reached for her t-shirt a figure came around the side of the curtain, but it wasn't Lily. It was Remus. He blushed at the sight of her without her top on and Hermione felt him staring at the scars on her back and arms.

"I… I'm so sorry!" he stammered before hurriedly going back around the curtain. Hermione chuckled to herself before pulling the t-shirt over her head and walking around the curtain.

"It's ok Remus, I know you didn't do it on purpose." She said smiling at him. He was still quite flustered but smiled back and began to gather her bags.

"Lily sends her apologies. She couldn't come because she had some head girl duties to attend to so she sent me instead."

"It's ok, thanks for agreeing to take her place." He smiled and lifted her bags.

"Ready to go then?" "I am indeed" They walked out of the hospital wing and began walking in silence down the corridor to the Gryffindor common room.

Remus was the first to break the silence, "So… um… do they hurt?"

Hermione looked at him slightly puzzled. "Does what hurt?"

He blushed slightly, "The scars. On your back and arms. Not that I was staring or anything!" he finished hurriedly.

Hermione laughed at his embarrassment. "Sorry." She said apologetically. "No, they don't. Madam Pomfrey gave me some painkillers before I left anyway."

Remus relaxed a bit glad that she hadn't been offended by his question. "Oh, good. I'm glad." He smiled at her. "Here we are so. Gryffindor common room" Hermione pretended not to know where the entrance was.

Remus chuckled. "Don't worry, I haven't gone mad. The entrance is behind this portrait." He pointed to the portrait of the fat lady.

Hermione pretended to suddenly understand as he stepped forwards and said the password. "_Fortuna Major_" he said.

The portrait swung forwards revealing the doorway into the common room. The two stepped through and Hermione pretended to look around in amazement.

"Welcome to your new home." Smiled Remus.

"Wow" said Hermione looking around. "I love it"

Remus grinned. "Everyone does. Okay, well the girls dorm is up those stairs over there." He pointed to the all too familiar staircase that led up to the girls' dormitory. "I can't actually go up there, school rules and all but if you don't mind waiting until Lily gets back then she can take you up and show you around."

Hermione nodded to show she understood and moved over to sit on one of the large comfortable chairs beside the fireplace. Remus followed her and sat opposite her.

"Is there anything you want to know? I'd be glad to help."

Hermione smiled. There wasn't really anything she needed to know. "Not for the moment thank you. I'll be sure to ask you if there is though. Remus smiled happily.

Just then there was a loud bang followed by a lot of laughter and shouting. James and Sirius came bounding down the stairs with massive grins on their faces.

"What did you guys do know?" asked Remus his face full of worry but amusement at the same time.

James laughed loudly. "We set of some wet start fireworks on the fifth year dorm. Scared the crap out of that kid Frank Longbottom."

Remus looked at them in shock. "You know I can't ignore that as a prefect." He said pointing to his badge.

"Oh come on Moony. It was only a bit of fun."

Remus sighed, "I guess you're right. Don't do it again though."

James and Sirius exchanged grins. They knew their friend would never punish them no matter how much he disagreed with what they did.

Hermione couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for Remus although deep down she knew he found it funny too and only gave out to them because he was duty bound.

The three spent the next few hours telling Hermione about all the pranks James and Sirius had done. Hermione was glad that Peter wasn't there. It meant she wouldn't get upset.

Lily came into the common room at around five o'clock and brought Hermione up to the girls' dorm where they unpacked her belongings.

"Come on, let's go down to dinner. I bet you're desperate for some real food."

Hermione laughed and the two went back downstairs to join the boys as they made their way to the great hall.

A/N: This is another filler chapter really. Nothing too exciting happens in it, just some necessary information. Hope you enjoy it all the same. Please review! Thanks.

**whogirl: As always, your review is greatly appreciated.**

**amrawo: Thank you, I feel a lot better now. I'm glad you enjoyed it and I hope you'll continue to do so.**

**Ydnas5: Thank you, I'm glad you like it and my writing style. I don't really think I have a style though, or at least I never think about it. The layout is something I've been having trouble with. I think I've sorted it out for this chapter, if not let me know. Thanks for pointing it out.**

**sln1987: Thanks for the review and here it is. As you can see the fifth person is Lily.**

**Remmy's Gurl: Hehe, I thought you'd like that. I've been planning it from the start and I was impressed when you guessed it. I hope this update is soon enough for you. I'll be able to update even more often soon as I'll have no school for three months. YAY! I hope I've sorted out the conversation thing finally. It turns out that no matter how nicely laid out it looks on my computer; it always looks different on other peoples. Weird. But now I think I have it. Sorry about that. Let me know if there's anything else that needs changing.**


	6. Convulsions

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters used hereafter.**

**CHAPTER 6: CONVULSIONS**

That night, after her first meal at Hogwarts, as the group made their way back up to the common room, Hermione was more tired than she ever remembered being. She had to use all her energy to keep walking. Lagging behind the others she was completely lost in her own thoughts about everything that had happened so far. The chase, the torture, getting stuck between dimensions, never being able to see her friends and family again. It was too much.

Suddenly, as though she was in a dream, Hermione felt herself falling to the floor. Everything was moving in slow motion. She was only vaguely aware of the others running to her side and calling her name. She rolled over on her back, unable to breath, gasping for air. Her eyes darted wildly reaching each of the concerned faces around her. Their lips moved as they called her name but she heard no sound. Hermione squeezed her eyes shut tightly as a wave of pain washed over her already battered body. She tried to scream out but her vocal cords weren't cooperating. What was happening? She felt someone lifting her and then running with her.

Almost as suddenly as it had started the pain stopped. Hermione gasped air into her lungs and began to cough violently. With all her strength Hermione forced her head up to see who was carrying her. Looking up she could see that it was Remus. Behind her she could hear the sounds of running footsteps and could make out the outlines of the others sprinting behind them.

"Stop…" she croaked. Remus kept running apparently unable to hear her. "Remus… Stop…" she croaked louder.

This time he heard and skidded to a halt, laying her down gently.

"Hermione! What happened? Are you okay? You stopped breathing!"

The others were all kneeled around her now looking down at her concerned. Lily pulled out a handkerchief and wiped Hermione's sweat drenched forehead with it. Hermione coughed violently again and Remus moved to lift her.

"I'm taking you to the hospital wing." He said.

"No, don't. Stop." Pleaded Hermione. She was only just out and she didn't want to go back any time soon.

"But you have to go Hermione. You stopped breathing and you went so pale we thought you were dead!" he said his voice full of panic.

"I'm fine." Said Hermione, "Really." She added when she saw the look on their faces.

They stared down at her disbelievingly. "Are you sure?" asked Remus. "You were having some sort of fit or something. It's not normal you know."

"I know. It's just given my circumstances anything is possible." Hermione froze. Had she just said that?

"Circumstances?" asked Lily curiously. "What sort of circumstances?"

"Come to think of it, you never did tell us much about how you got here or anything." Said Peter quietly.

They all turned to him and then looked back down at Hermione who was now feeling very uncomfortable.

She tried to stand but Sirius pushed her back down. "Don't try to stand. And what circumstances?" he said echoing Lily.

"Um… well… it's just that… I've been through a lot and I've come a long way to get here." She muttered

"Come on Hermione, do you really think we're going to fall for that? We're not that dumb." He said calmly.

Hermione felt herself blush. "I'm sorry. I'd rather not talk about it now. Maybe later."

Although she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to have to explain everything to them. She would deal with that later though. Right now she just wanted to get to her bed and sleep.

"You don't have to tell us anything yet. It's your business and we'll respect that." Everyone stared at James in disbelief. "Well it is." He said firmly helping her to her feet.

Hermione swayed slightly as spots danced in front of her eyes. James put one of her arms over his shoulder and started helping her back to the common room.

"Are you lot going to stand there or help?" he yelled over his shoulder at the others.

Remus hurried forwards and put Hermione's other arm over his shoulder. Together he and James carried her back to the common room where they laid her down on one of the couches in front of the fire. Lily ran upstairs for a blanket and placed it over her.

"Are you sure you're okay?" asked Remus again, full of concern.

"Yes, thank you." said Hermione groggily as she drifted off to sleep.

The others all stood around and looked down at the strange new girl. What had she meant by circumstances? Was there something about her past she was hiding from them?

"Come on guys, we should leave her alone. She'll talk when she's ready." Said James.

Lily nodded to show she understood and Sirius and Peter walked towards the boys' staircase grudgingly. Sirius was curious about Hermione. She interested him. Peter's mind was reeling with thoughts. Was Hermione some sort of dark wizard? The two disappeared up the staircase leaving James, Remus and Lily standing around the couch.

"Someone should stay with her." Said James shortly.

Remus looked up at him. "You guys have head duties. I can stay with her." He said.

"Are you sure it's okay?" asked Lily.

"Yeah, it's no problem. I can miss a nights sleep."

Lily and James smiled at him. He was always so loyal. "Okay." Said James. "If we get back soon one of us will take over for a bit."

Remus nodded his understanding. "See you guys later."

The two left the common room leaving Remus alone with the sleeping Hermione. He looked down at her. She was really beautiful when she slept. Just like when she was awake. Her curly brown hair falling around her face and framing it perfectly and she breathed evenly. He stared at her for a few more moments before sitting down on the chair opposite her to keep watch. She seemed so peaceful.

It wasn't long before Remus himself fell asleep.

He was awoken shortly after by a loud thudding sound. Hermione had fallen of the couch and was lying on the ground in a similar state to earlier. He scrambled over to her side and grabbed her hand willing her to snap out of it.

"Come on Hermione… Come on…" he muttered as she writhed around in agony.

After what seemed like forever she was still twitching madly. He couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't stand by while she was in so much pain. Lifting her gently he hurried her out of the common room and made his way in the direction of the hospital wing. Just as he arrived at the door to the hospital wing he heard her take a gasp of air. Looking down he saw she had stopped twitching uncontrollably and was looking around disorientated.

"Hermione?" he whispered.

She looked up into his eyes. "Oh god." She said weakly. "Not again."

"You scared me so much." He whispered his voice hoarse. "Come on, I'm taking you to see Madam Pomfrey."

Hermione's eyes widened, "Please don't, I'd rather not let anyone else know just yet."

He looked down at her, "You have to. There's something seriously wrong with you."

She looked away from his gaze. "If it happens again I promise I'll go."

He lifted her again and turned around. "You had better."

The next morning Hermione silently pleaded that Remus wouldn't say anything to the others. James and Lily didn't get back until late and they were too tired to ask, but Sirius and Peter were a different story.

"How did you sleep Hermione?" asked Sirius.

Hermione looked at Remus expecting him to say something but he didn't. He just stared back at her with his jaw clenched. She tried to smile at him and then turned back to Sirius.

"Fine. Just fine. All I needed was a good nights sleep."

"That's great. Ready for classes tomorrow?" He asked smiling.

"Yeah, I guess. Well I mean, it's going to be a bit weird at first." She said quietly.

"How do you mean weird?" asked Peter.

"Well, it's a new school isn't it? Bigger classes and all" lied Hermione.

"True." Said Sirius shortly. "Well, I'm going down to breakfast. Is anyone else coming?"

The others all got up to follow him out through the portrait hole and down to the great hall. Remus however didn't move. He just stared at Hermione who stared back.

"Thank you for mot saying anything." She said.

"I didn't do it so they wouldn't bother you. I did it so you could tell them yourself." He said quietly.

"I will." She said, "Just not right now, they'd fuss over me."

"And with good reason." He almost shouted back. "The second time was much worse than the first, I though you'd never snap out of it!" he stopped and looked at her, then sighed and continued more quietly, "I don't want to see you get hurt anymore. I don't know everything you've been through but what I know of is more than anyone should have to go through."

With that he walked out of the common room leaving Hermione standing staring after him.

"If only you knew" she whispered to herself. "Why do you care so much Remus? You hardly know me at all."

There was something about Remus Lupin that intrigued her. He shared some of the same characteristics his future self had, but there was something about him in this time that was different. He was more… lively somehow. More energetic and determined than the Remus Lupin she knew. Her mind still spinning from everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours, everything that had happened leading up to it and Remus. Hermione walked silently out of the common room and made her way down to the great hall. Classes tomorrow would be… different…

**A/N: I want to apologize to you all for not updating sooner. I would have updated Sunday but I had a lot going on and when I sat down to write it I just couldn't. Writers block I guess. It took me a few attempts to get a beginning I was happy with tonight too. I'm not even that sure about it. This is really where it starts to begin for Hermione. Everything should start to happen now. Hopefully. Anyway, sorry again, please read and review!**

**need-courage-to-write: aw, bless your little socks. I'm glad you liked the last chapter. Thanks for the review and keep 'em coming please. And post that story you were telling me about. I wanna know who the people you based it on are!**

**Remmy's Gurl: finally, I'm glad it's sorted. I cant tell you any more about Peter or about Hermione and Remus, you've just gotta keep guessing. Which, you're disturbingly good at might I add. More updates should start this time next week. I gotta work this week. Thank you so much for your review and I'll try to update soonish. Maybe Wednesday.**

**amrawo: here's the update finally. Glad you like it. Your review is appreciated as always.**

**PaulC: Chapter 3: I'm glad you think I got the atmosphere right. I'd die if it was all wrong. Me the perfectionist…**

**Chapter 4: I haven't got a clue what she agrees with you on. I don't think I would to tell you though. It might inflate your head even more ;). I'd never send her back that fast. After 4 chapters? Are you crazy? Glad you prefer my way though.**

**Chapter 5: Her comes the action… sort of… I'll review your latest chapter as soon as I get time to. Update it soon! Your reviews are appreciated as always!**


	7. Confrontation

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters used hereafter.**

**CHAPTER 7: CONFRONTATION**

"Come on Hermione! You have to get up now! "

Hermione rolled over and groaned. It was Monday already, and that meant classes. Usually she would be the first up and eagerly waiting for them to begin, but somehow the thought of seeing all these people she knew from the future who were deatheaters, dead or just so worn out by the war that they were practically dead didn't appeal to her.

"Come on lazy!" called Lily again as she pulled back the curtain around the bed to find a drowsy looking Hermione pulling the pillow over her head. "You've got to get up."

She laughed as she wrestled the covers from Hermione's vice like grip. Hermione grumbled loudly and stubbornly kept her eyes closed.

"Really now, is this anyway to start off at a new school?" grinned Lily.

"It's not new!" huffed Hermione.

Lily was a bit taken aback by this. "What do you mean by that?" she asked, "You've only been here a short while."

"Of course I haven't silly, I've been here for the last…" Hermione sat straight up in bed, a look of horror on her face.

'Oh crap' she thought before leaping up and running into the bathroom.

"See! I'm up!" she yelled through the locked door at Lily.

All Lily could do was stand and stare at the closed door. What had Hermione meant by that? Lily shook her head and tried to put it out of her mind. 'It must have been a dream she had or something' she rationalized with herself but somehow she couldn't forget about it and she continued to think about it until Hermione emerged from the bathroom fully dressed and ready to go to breakfast.

"Something wrong?" asked Hermione innocently silently hoping that Lily had forgotten about earlier.

When Lily didn't respond but just sat there Hermione got even more worried.

"Em… Lily?" she said again, "You okay?"

Lily's head shot up and an obviously forced smile appeared on her face. "I'm fine, you ready to go?"

Hermione felt slightly uneasy at Lily's odd behaviour. 'I've got to be more careful' she scolded herself before smiling and moving towards the door.

The boys were already waiting for them by the time they reached the common room.

"What took you two lovely ladies so long?" yelled Sirius loudly across the room at them.

"Sleeping beauty here didn't want to get up." Smiled Lily as they reached the waiting boys.

Hermione blushed, "I had a late night last night." She muttered.

"A late night? Well, well, I didn't think you were that kind of girl." Grinned Sirius cheekily.

"Oh shut up Sirius." Said James, "What were you doing up so late though?" he added.

"Oh, I was in the library." Said Hermione shortly not wanting to expand too much.

"Why were you in the library? You don't have any homework yet." Squeaked Peter.

"Em… yeah. I just wanted to find out some information on personal stuff." Said Hermione glancing nervously at Remus.

He caught her eyes with his own for a brief moment before she turned away and headed to the portrait hole, clearly not wanting to continue the conversation. The others shrugged and followed her. Remus stared after them for a moment before following them.

As they walked down to the great hall Hermione was completely lost in her own thoughts. She had been going to the library a lot. She wanted to find out as much as she could about her fits before she resorted to going to Madam Pomfrey of Dumbledore. She hadn't made much progress so far, but she was sure she could find something that would help her. Remus bothered her a lot though. He seemed to be keeping a close eye on her. She often felt his eyes on her while she poured over book after book. He knew perfectly well what she was up to as well. She knew he still wanted her to go to the hospital wing but she was stubborn. She wouldn't go. Not just yet anyway.

The group finally reached the great hall and sat at the far end of the Gryffindor table together. Hermione didn't have much of an appetite and instead spent most of the time staring around the great hall. She'd be in class soon and she'd have to be near some of these people. She didn't want to be anywhere near to some of them. It would just be too hard for her, but she'd have to do it. They'd get suspicious otherwise.

Sighing she stood up deciding that she should go and get her bag. That and compose herself.

"Where are you going?" asked Lily, "You haven't eaten a single bite. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine replied Hermione dismissively, her mind still not fully concentrating.

"You shouldn't go without breakfast you know." Said Remus shortly, "It's not good for your health and you haven't exactly been the best in the last while."

Hermione turned to face him. She stared into his grey eyes and he stared right back, his face set.

"I'm not hungry." She replied and walked away and into the entrance hall.

As she reached the bottom of the staircase she felt her breath catch in her chest. 'Not now' she thought. She reached out and grabbed the banister, steadying herself. Squeezing her eyes shut and clenching her jaw she waited for the fit to pass. It wasn't as bad as the other ones, but it was still painful. Behind her she heard footsteps. She was afraid to open her eyes in case it was someone she didn't want to see. The person stopped right beside her and she could feel whoever it was watching her before she felt herself being lifted and carried up the stairs. She felt herself being laid on a soft couch and the fit begin to pass.

Gasping in a large welcome breath of oxygen her eyes snapped open to see Remus crouching over her.

"You really need to do something about this." He whispered looking down on her.

"I know." She croaked, "I'm working on it."

"IT'S NOT ENOUGH TO JUST READ A FEW BOOKS ON IT! WHAT HAPPENS WHEN IT DOESN'T PASS AND YOU STOP BREATHING FOR TOO LONG! YOU'LL GET BRAIN DAMAGE, OR WORSE, YOU'LL DIE!"

Hermione was taken aback by Remus' outburst.

"I… It's not…" but she couldn't think of anything to say. He was right.

"I'm sorry." He said, clearly trying to control his emotions. "It's just that, well, I hate to see people suffer. Especially people I care about." He turned away.

Hermione sat up straighter. "How can you care about me when you've only known me for such a short time?" she asked reaching a hand out and placing it on his shoulder. He moved away sharply at her touch.

"I don't know." He said. "I just feel that way."

Hermione was slightly shocked by this and she stood turning him to face her.

"Thank you." She whispered. "Thank you for caring. You hardly know me yet you're willing to be there for me."

"You have no one else anyway, and you need support after everything that's happened to you. I don't even know the half of it." He said this almost willing her to tell him everything.

Hermione was definitely tempted to, but she knew she couldn't. Not just yet anyway.

"I'm sorry, I really would like to tell you everything, but I just can't. There's too much to tell and you'd probably be too shocked by it all." She said

He nodded to show her understood.

"I promise to tell you more about me though. Some things will have to be left out, but I feel I owe it to you that you know more about me."

Remus smiled at her, obviously glad that she was willing to open up more. "Thank you. We should get to class now though or we'll be late."

"You're right. What do we have first?"

"Potions with the Slytherins." He replied cringing.

The two grabbed their bags and left for the dungeons. Downstairs they met up with the others and went the rest of the way down to the dungeons.

Hermione noticed that the attitude of Slytherins and Gryffindors was exactly the same as in her time. Both groups stood far apart, neither conversing with the other. It was almost laughable.

The teacher arrived shortly after they did and all the students followed him into the classroom. He was a short man with shoulder length brown hair and almost black eyes. When he spoke his voice was deathly quiet.

"I am Professor Duncton. This is your final and most important year at this school. If any of you plan on actually doing something decent with your lives, I suggest you pay attention to what I teach you. Today we will not be brewing any potions and will instead be taking notes on this years course so please take out some parchment and a quill and get ready to begin."

"Oh joy, he's just like Snape," muttered Hermione under her breath.

"Did you say something?" asked Lily looking at her.

"Oh," said Hermione startled, "No, well yes. I was just saying that Professor Duncton's just like my old potions teacher."

Lily looked at her strangely but then nodded seriously, "Yeah, he's a real git at times but he's a good teacher. Get's the work done."

Hermione nodded too. "Yeah."

They spent the rest of the class taking notes on the year's course. At the end of the class there was a scuffle as everyone gathered their belongings together and put them into their bags.

Hermione was just about to pack away all of her notes and quills when someone passing her desk knocked over her ink bottle smashing it all over her notes and ruining them.

"Hey!" she said loudly causing all the Marauders and Lily to turn around.

"I'm sorry, it was an accident." Sneered a voice that clearly wasn't sorry. Hermione who had been staring at her ruined notes recognised the voice and froze. She snapped her head up, her eyes making contact with a silvery-grey pair. The eyes of Lucius Malfoy. Hermione felt her blood boiling and she took a step towards him menacingly.

"You!" she hissed menacingly, "Of all the people, it would be you!"

Lucius took a step back clearly confused by how she knew him but quickly recovered.

"You presume to know me Gryffindor scum?" he said loudly, "I don't think you're the sort that I'd associate with."

And turning sharply he strolled off followed by a mob of Slytherins all giving Hermione a glare as they passed. Hermione stared after them, still enraged by having seen the person who did this to her. She would get revenge. Grabbing her belongings and slinging her bag over her shoulder she stalked out of the classroom clearly not in the mood for answering questions. The others all followed her slightly confused and curious.

**A/N: A thousand million apologies to you all. I have been extremely busy recently and also I didn't seem to be able to log in for a while to update. School is completely over now though so I will be updating more often. I swear. I was quite happy with this chapter, more so than some of the other ones anyway. I'd like to dedicate this chapter to my friend Paul (the author known as PaulC) who is leaving me all alone to go to the Institute for the next 2 years (yes, he is crazy but it's not that kind of institute). This is for you Paul!**

**amrawo: All will become apparent eventually. I'm glad you liked it. I will miss getting your reviews for a while but there should be plenty for you to read when you get back. Enjoy whatever it is you will be doing!**

**Remmy's Gurl: You are way to good at guessing stuff. I might have to 'take care of you' if you're not careful ;). There will be more on Peter soon; I really don't like him so it won't be nice. Your review is appreciated as always!**

**need-courage-to-write: thanks for the review, it is appreciated. Thank you for pointing out the typo, it was very helpful. Don't worry about James and Lily, you'll see some hatred soon ;)**

**PaulC: I cried when I read you review… cried with happiness of course. No actually I didn't, but still that is the most awesome thing anyone has ever said about my writing! Thank you so much. This chapter is for you, I hope you like it and I'll miss you loads!**


	8. A Dark Assembly

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters used hereafter.**

**CHAPTER 8: A DARK ASSEMBLY**

The rest of the classes before lunch could not have gone any slower from Hermione's point of view. The second the bell that signalled the end of Care for Magical Creatures rang, Hermione shoved all her belongings into her bag and stormed of up to the castle desperate to be alone. The others watched concerned as she went.

"What's up with her?" asked Peter.

"Shut up Peter, she's upset about something" snapped Remus as he walked away hoping to catch up with her.

"And what's with him?" added Peter under his breath.

"He's just worried about her Peter, don't worry about it." Said Lily kindly.

"I'm more concerned about her." Said James as the four made their way back to the common room, "What was that with Malfoy anyway? She seemed to know him."

"Yeah, well everyone knows about the Malfoys don't they?" snarled Sirius, "Pure blooded snobs the lot of them. Think they're better than everyone else. Real dark wizards too."

"Yeah, really powerful." nodded Peter a little bit too eagerly.

The others all looked at him and then walked off leaving him standing there alone.

"What's so wrong with being powerful?" he muttered quietly before turning and heading in the opposite direction.

Hermione pushed her way through the portrait hole and ran up the stairs to the girls dorm. Slamming open the door she flung herself on to her bed and pulled the curtains around her, casting a silencing charm around it. Sitting there on her bed Hermione finally gave into the tears. The large salty drops rolled down her cheeks as she sat there and let out all the sadness and pain that had built up over the last few weeks. It was like someone was slowly drawing out a poison that had infected her body. It didn't make any of it go away, but it did make her feel better. For a while at least… Eventually she would have to face everyone. Her new friends and the people who haunted the future of the world.

Remus was pacing back and forth in front of the staircase to the girls dorm when the group arrived. He looked up when they entered and ran straight to Lily.

"Lily! Thank goodness you're here. I couldn't get up." He motioned towards the staircase with his hand, "Please, go up to her. Please."

Lily smiled kindly, "Allright, but I don't know if she wants to talk to anyone right now" The look on Remus' face made her add, "I will try though."

She turned and walked towards the staircase.

"You guys wait here, I won't be long." She called over her shoulder leaving the boys to sit down in the chairs around the fire.

None of them said a word. Lily knocked cautiously on the door to their room.

"Hermione?" she called.

When she didn't get a reply she gently pushed the door open and entered. She looked around and spotted the drawn curtains around Hermione's bed. Sighing she walked over and drew them back to find a crying Hermione huddled at the head of the bed.

"Oh Hermione" she whispered and went to the crying girl, "Don't cry please. Tell me what's wrong."

Hermione just sniffed loudly and a new wave of tears overcame her. Lily hugged her tightly.

"Please, what's wrong. You can trust me."

Hermione raised her head and pushed the tears from her eyes, "I knowi can," she said quietly, "It's just so hard, everything that's happened. It's just so unfair."

"What's unfair Hermione? Please tell me." Pleaded Lily

"I can't right now, I still need to get it all straight in my own head." Whispered Hermione.

"Okay, I understand, but when you're ready to talk I'm here." Said Lily

"Thank you Lily" Sniffed Hermione.

"Anytime. Now, you have our boys in quite a state, they're all worried about you. Especially tall, blonde and clever." She added with a wink.

Hermione laughed and pushed away more tears. "I did act pretty weird I guess. I should go down and apologize to them."

"Take your time though, we don't want them seeing you all tear stained now do we? I'll go down and wait with them." Said Lily standing and moving towards the door, she paused and turned "I'm just curious, you seem to know Malfoy. Is he the reason you're here?"

Hermione looked at Lily for a moment and then nodded solemnly. Lily's expression changed to one of deepest sympathy before she turned and left.

Hermione sat there on her bed for another few minutes before she got up and went to the bathroom to clean herself up.

Back down in the common room, Remus had resumed his pacing and nearly walked straight into Lily as she came back down.

"Well?" he asked desperately, "Is she okay?"

Lily smiled, "Yes, she was just a bit overcome by her situation."

"What do you mean?" asked Sirius.

"She won't tell me anything yet, she says she's still trying to get it all straight in her own head. It has something to do with Malfoy though. That's all she said. Please don't ask her anything else, she'll talk when she's ready." Said Lily

Remus looked like he was going to explode, "I'll kill him!" he yelled

"And I'll help!" added Sirius.

"Please don't." came a small voice from the staircase. It was Hermione. "He hasn't done anything yet, and you'd never be able to prove anything."

"What do you mean 'he hasn't done anything yet'?" asked Lily, "You just told me…"

"I know what I told you. He did cause my situation, but not yet."

The others all looked at each other confused.

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked James curiously.

"You'll know soon enough." Said Hermione, who had decided that it would be best to tell her new friends everything.

She could trust them. They were good people. Except maybe Peter, she wasn't sure about him yet. Hermione looked towards the window, there was a storm brewing outside.

Rain was pouring down and lightning flashed across the sky. Down by the lake a number of hooded figures stood around in a circle.

"Whoever she is she's been lying." Said a silky voice from underneath one of the hoods. "The Dark Lord has no record of ever killing a family of 'Grangers'. Even if he did, it's doubtful that a pathetic girl like her would survive without him knowing."

"So who is she?" asked another voice.

"I don't know but we should find out." Replied the first voice, "I want to find out how she knows me too."

The sound of a branch snapping nearby made the group freeze.

"Go." Said the first voice and two of the group moved towards the forest.

Peter sat trembling behind a tree praying they wouldn't see him. He heard the two approaching his hiding place and tried to make a run for it.

"STUPIFY!" yelled one of the hooded figures and the spell hit him right in the back.

When Peter came round he was surrounded by hooded figures staring down on him.

"P… P… Please… Please don't hurt me…" he begged.

"Silence!" shouted one of the figures. "Pettigrew, isn't it?" asked the voice.

"Y…Yes sir…" stammered Peter, now drowned in sweat and soaked by the rain.

"Stand up." Peter stumbled to his feet. "Now then, you were listening to us?"

"I… Yes…" said Peter avoiding looking up at the figure.

"I see. So you heard what we were talking about?"

Peter nodded, "About Hermione."

"Yes, the Granger girl. She is a Gryffindor."

"Yes sir, she hangs around with us."

"Ah, yes. The 'Marauders'. The figure paused as though thinking, "Pettigrew?"

"Y…Yes?"

"You want to live don't you?"

"Please don't kill me!" begged Peter falling to his knees before the figure.

"Get up!" spat the figure, "We're not going to kill you… yet."

Peter gulped.

"No no, you could be useful. I want you to do me a favour Pettigrew."

"Anything!" stammered Peter.

"I want you to spy on the Granger girl. Tell me everything you can about her. EVERYTHING."

"Y… Yes sir, I will sir."

"Good, now go!" spat the figure kicking him away.

Peter slipped in the mud and stumbled forwards towards the castle leaving the dark figures standing watching him in the pouring rain.

"Watch him. He had better not betray us."

"Yes sir" said the rest of the group and they all walked off in different directions leaving the one figure standing alone.

"I'll find out the truth Granger, you can bet on that."

**A/N: Another update! Yay, I got time. Anyway, hope you enjoy it. Stuff is starting to happen!**

**amrawo: enjoy camp. There should be lots of updates when you get back, can't wait for more of your lovely reviews!**

**pyro the dark angel: trust me, I will. It will be extremely painful and nasty ;) thanks for the review!**

**Remmy's Gurl: indeed they do ;) I was going to make it Snape but I have a better idea for him, you'll just have to wait. Your review is much appreciated as always!**

**PaulC: I love you too! Aw, isn't that sweet? Thanks for the lovely review, the fits will be explained soon enough and I will worry about updates because I love updating!**

**faeriekittie306 animelover: LOVE THE NAME! Thanks for the review!**


	9. Curious

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters used hereafter.**

**CHAPTER 8: CURIOUS**

By the time Peter got back to the common room, soaking wet, everyone had already gone to bed. The common room was unlit except for the glowing cinders left in the fireplace and the occasional flash of lightning that lit up the sky outside. Peter made his way over to one of the couches, still shaking from his encounter with the hooded figures. He was sure they were Slytherins but he hadn't seen their faces so he couldn't be sure.

He stayed there all night thinking about what he'd gotten himself into. He had betrayed his friends. Not directly but in a way. He had promised people, who were no doubt enemies of them that he would spy on Hermione. Hermione was one of their friends now, which meant she was his. But why could he not just accept her? Why was he thinking like this? It wasn't his fault she wasn't to be trusted. She was the one who wouldn't tell anyone about her past and always acted strange. She was the newcomer. The stranger. His friends should trust him over her. He hadn't betrayed his friends; he was merely protecting them. Doing what they wouldn't. What they couldn't. There was no harm in investigating the girl. They deserved to know the truth and he would find out for them. Then everything could go back to normal. Peter chuckled to himself, the plan fully formed in his mind. He'd be the one to save his friends from her. Whoever she was.

The next morning the boys came down to find Peter curled up on the couch in front of the fire.

James gently shook him awake. "Peter. Peter wake up. Peter"

Peter woke with a jump. "James! You scared me!"

"Sorry mate. Why were you sleeping on the couch?" asked James concerned.

"Oh… um, I came back to the common room late and I was too tired to bother going upstairs. It was easier just to lie down here." Lied Peter

"Oh, right. Well we're going down to breakfast now. Coming?" asked James

"Yeah, sure" Peter stood up, dots dancing around in front of his eyes.

"You should go shower first though, you look horrible." mocked Sirius.

"And a change of clothes wouldn't go a miss either." Added Remus with a grin.

Peter laughed, "You guys don't look too great yourselves either."

"What? Hey! We just washed! We're completely clean! Except maybe Sirius." Grinned James.

This earned him a punch on the arm.

"Come on, I'm starved. See you in a bit Pete." Said Remus dragging the other two from the room.

"Don't call me Pete." Whispered Peter under his breath as he watched them go before turning and walking up the staircase to the boys' dorm.

After breakfast the group split up to go to their individual classes. James, Sirius and Peter all headed off to Divination class while Hermione, Remus and Lily all headed off to Ancient Ruins. Lunch came and passed quickly and before they knew it they were sitting in the last class of the day. Transfiguration.

Hermione always enjoyed Professor McGonagall's classes, even if they were shared with the Slytherins. Today they were transfiguring armchairs into Badgers and back again. It was really quite funny. Some peoples chairs still had tails or ears while there were others chasing badgers with cushions sticking out of their backs around the room. For a while Hermione forgot all about her troubles and it was like being back in her own time with Harry and Ron again.

It didn't last long though. At the end of the class Professor McGonagall called Hermione up to her desk as everyone else hurried to pack up and get out. The Marauders and Lily stopped at the door to wait for her but Professor McGonagall hurried them out with a frown before closing the door sharply and turning back to Hermione.

"Ms. Granger. How are you getting on?" asked Professor McGonagall with a slight smile.

Hermione was slightly shocked but she managed to say "Fine Professor, thank you for asking."

"That's good Ms. Granger. I'm glad you've settled in so well and that you seem to have made a few friends. I didn't ask you to stay behind just to ask you how you were getting on though. The real reason I asked you to stay behind was because Professor Dumbledore asked me to give you a message. Now, being from where you are from, you are sure to know a lot of things that nobody in the world knows about."

"Yes Professor. I suppose I do." Replied Hermione.

"Indeed. Professor Dumbledore wanted me to make sure that you know the consequences that telling a person such things could have. He seems to have the idea that you would be thinking of telling things that should not be told to certain people." Said Professor McGonagall.

"Ho… How?" Stammered Hermione.

"The Professor is a powerful man. He knows a lot of things."

"Well, I guess I was thinking of telling my friends. The other day I had an… encounter with a person I know in the future. A person who I have reason to dislike. A lot. And I guess it got to me. I got so upset and I just wanted to tell everyone the truth and not have anything to hide anymore." Admitted Hermione.

"I can understand that Hermione. You have shown that you are a strong person through this. I cannot however express enough to you how important it is that nobody knows of this. Just yet anyway." Said Professor McGonagall a smile on her thin lips.

Hermione nodded. "I understand Professor. I have used controlled time travel before and I know the importance of such matters. It was just a moment of weakness I guess that made me want to tell."

"I'm glad you understand Hermione. You may go now and enjoy the rest of your day."

"Thank you Professor." Hermione said turning to leave.

"Oh, and Hermione?" said Professor McGonagall.

"Yes Professor?" said Hermione turning again

"Please feel free to come and talk to myself or Professor Dumbledore at anytime."

"Thank you Professor." Hermione left the room closing the door behind her.

To her left she heard a scuffling noise. She turned to look but there was no one there. 'How odd' she thought but turned and left in the direction of the common room.

Back in the common room the others were all waiting for her to go down to dinner.

"What did McGonagall want?" asked Sirius.

Hermione looked at him for a second. "She just wanted to know how I was getting on." I

It wasn't a lie. Just not the whole truth.

"Are you guys coming down to dinner?" she asked turning to leave.

"Yeah, coming." Said Lily following her.

The boys didn't move though.

"Are you guys coming or not?" called Lily over her shoulder.

"In a minute." Yelled back Sirius before turning to the others.

"She's not telling the truth." He said straight away.

"How do you know that Sirius? How can you be sure?" said Remus loudly.

"Calm down mate. He has a point. I don't think she's telling the whole truth either." Said James.

"I'm not saying we can't be friends with her or we shouldn't trust her. I'm just saying that she's not telling us everything." Said Sirius slightly hurt.

"Everyone has secrets," snapped Remus.

"I know and I understand that. Please don't get mad, but I think we should ask her about it or something. Maybe she can give us a good reason for not telling us at least." Said James

"Yeah, you're right. Sorry." Muttered Remus.

"Don't be. It's ok. Now let's go down to dinner." Said James.

The four stood and left the common room all of them thinking hard, only Peter was thinking hard about something else…

Remus couldn't stop thinking about Hermione. It was all too confusing. Everything about Hermione confused Remus. Not just the mystery that was her past and the odd way she sometimes acted but there was something else about her that confused him. It was the way she made him feel. He couldn't describe it. He knew it was a good feeling but he couldn't pin down what it was.

Rolling over onto his back Remus stared up at the plain ceiling above him. It was the middle of the night and the storm was still raging outside. He could hear the massive raindrops lashing against the window, threatening to break the glass, the periodic flashes of lightning and rumbles of thunder. The others all seemed to be asleep.

He could hear Sirius snoring loudly in the bed nearby but then he heard another sound from across the room in the direction of Peter and James' beds. It sounded like somebody crying. Pushing the covers back Remus sat up in bed listening carefully. It was definitely the sound of someone crying. It had to be either Peter or James. But why?

Swinging his legs over the side of the bed and pulling back the curtains he stepped onto the stone floor. It was cold against his bare feet as he tiptoed across the dark room. When he reached the bed the sound was coming from he realized it was Peters.

Why would Peter be crying in the middle of the night?

Pulling back the curtain around Peters' bed Remus could see Peters' figure outlined by the soft moonlight. A flash of lightning lit up the room for a brief moment, showing him Peters' tear stained cheeks.

"Peter?" he whispered kneeling down beside the bed. "What's wrong Peter?"

Peter moved his head and reached Remus' gaze. Sniffling loudly he pushed himself up into a sitting position.

"N… N… Nothing." He muttered between sobs.

Remus looked at him disbelievingly.

"Come on Peter, don't tell me you're crying for nothing. There has to be something wrong."

Peter suddenly stopped crying and his expression changed. His face seemed to get darker and he moved closer to the edge of the bed.

"I said there was nothing wrong Remus. Why are you always so persistent? It's quite annoying you know."

Remus looked at Peter in shock, "What? I'm only concerned about you Pete. I heard you crying and I came to see what was up."

Another flash of lightning lit up Peters face showing his pale skin and black rings around his eyes.

"Don't call me Pete. You know I hate it." He whispered

"Sorry. You never said anything before."

"Well I'm saying it now aren't I?" hissed Peter and he moved his hand beneath his pillow in one swift movement drawing out a long thin dagger and driving it into Remus' heart.

Remus fell backwards. Peter's face appeared above him. A horrible grin plastered across it.

"Silver Remus. That dagger is made of silver. You know what silver is used for don't you." Remus tried to call out for Sirius and James but he couldn't.

He tried to push himself away, but Peter was too fast. Grabbing hold of the dagger stuck in Remus' chest Peter twisted it and pulled it out, raising it in the air above Remus.

"Goodbye old friend" he hissed before plunging the dagger downwards…

**A/N: Again I've taken ages to update. Things have been chaos though. I was happy with this chapter. I actually wrote the end as the beginning at first but then I decided to change it for shits and giggles. Enjoy.**

**pyro the dark angel: I hate Peter a lot too. There might be some burning going on, you never know. Thanks for the review.**

**Fk306 animelover: Apologies about the mistake with your name. I have a good excuse but you don't have to believe me if you don't want to. I have a friend called Kitty and I was talking to her at the time so I guess it was subconscious. Sorry. Thank you for the review.**

**missy87: we shall have to wait and see. Thanks for the review.**

**PaulC: A lovely review as always. The reason she doesn't know whether to trust Peter or not is because he hasn't yet done anything wrong. I'll think about finishing it, but I can't guarantee anything. And shut up about that. Certain people might be reading this and cop on, certain people are dumb but not necessarily completely dumb ;)**

**amrawo: thank you for your review, I'll have loads up for when you get back.**

**singingbookfreak: thank you for your review. I'm glad you took the time to read it and that you enjoy it.**

**MessedUpSOMuch: A friend of Pauls? Thank you for the review, I'm glad you like it so much.**

**Remmy's Gurl: Thank you for the review as always. She hasn't told anyone as you see. It was never my intention to have her tell. That doesn't mean people wont find out though.**


	10. Dreams

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters used hereafter.

CHAPTER 10: DREAMS (edited) 

Hermione writhed in pain. Every inch of her body felt like it was on fire. She blinked back the tears forming in her eyes. Suddenly the pain stopped leaving a dull aching feeling all over her body. Above her she could see the ceiling of the girls dorm, but it didn't seem real to her. As though it was just a ghostly vision.

Pushing herself up, she peered into the darkness surrounding her. Standing in the centre of the circular room was a cloaked figure. It looked like a tall, thin man with his back to her. His black cloak covered his whole body including his head and it seemed to blow around him as if in a strong wind. He turned slightly and she gasped, his pale white face was now partially highlighted in the yellow moonlight. He seemed only vaguely aware of her presence as she watched him. As she opened her mouth to speak, he seemed to become aware of her presence in the room, his focusing on her and widening. Turning to face her fully, his skull like face was now clearly visible to her. Opening his mouth wide he began to scream.. It was the most horrifying scream Hermione had ever heard. Squeezing her eyes shut and pressing her hands to her ears, Hermione tried to drown out the horrendous sound. Feeling suddenly dizzy, Hermione felt herself falling backwards onto her bed. She lay there for a while the world apparently still rocking, afraid to move, before she felt someone pulling her hands from her ears.

"HERMIONE! HERMIONE!" shouted a panicked voice.

"NO! GO AWAY! STOP SCREAMING AT ME! STOP IT!" yelled Hermione before a sharp slap across the face made her stop and her eyes snap open.

Lily was standing over her, her face full of fear. "Hermione! Are you okay? You were writhing around and then you started screaming! I tried to wake you but I… I couldn't… I didn't know what to do! I'm sorry," she shouted hysterically.

Hermione shook her head and pushed herself up. What had that been? Was it a dream? A vision? Her imagination? Whatever it was, she needed to talk to Dumbledore. She hadn't had a fit of any kind in a few days, but this one was different to the others. She had actually seen something.

"Hermione?" whispered Lily apprehensively drawing Hermione's attention back to the present.

Hermione looked up at her still slightly dazed and forced her eyes to focus.

"I'm sorry Lil. It was just a bad dream. That's all." She muttered.

"Are you sure Hermione? It didn't seem like just a dream and you looked like you were in pain. Was it another fit?" asked Lily clearly distraught.

"No Lily, I'm okay. Please go back to bed now." Murmured Hermione wanting to be left alone.

"Okay Hermione but I think you should go to see Madam Pomfrey in the morning." Sighed Lily.

"I'M OKAY LILY! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" yelled Hermione angrily.

Lily opened her mouth to say something but instead took a step backwards before turning and moving back to her own bed, drawing the curtains behind her. Hermione stayed staring at the closed curtains around Lily's bed for a moment, already regretting her outburst before rolling over and falling back into and uneasy sleep.

Not too far away, Remus jerked awake drowned in sweat. It had just been a dream. Just a dream he reassured himself, still shaking slightly. Pushing back the covers he swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up. Looking across the room in the direction of Peter's bed he could see no sign of movement. If it was only a dream why had it seemed so real? That dagger, the image was still clear in his mind. Shaking himself for being so stupid he turned back to his bed.

Suddenly a hand came down on his shoulder and he wheeled around ready to face his attacker but instead came face to face with James.

"James" he breathed. "You scared me."

"Sorry mate, I was just wondering what you were doing up." Whispered James.

"No reason. Just felt like a little walk around" replied Remus.

"A little walk around? How far did you go? The ten feet between here and the door?. Goodnight anyway Remus." Said James turning to go back to bed.

Remus climbed back under the covers and soon fell asleep himself, but the memory of his dream was still stuck in his mind. It had been so vivid.

The next morning when Hermione awoke she went straight to Lily's bed to apologise for her outburst, but she wasn't there. Where could she be? Hermione dressed quickly; glad it was the weekend because it meant she could talk to Lily properly.

Down in the common room she spotted Lily huddled in the corner with the Marauders. They were all whispering about something and as Hermione approached they stopped abruptly and looked up at her, innocent looks on all of their faces. It was obvious they had been talking about her. Lily was probably telling them everything that had happened. Hermione didn't blame her. It must look like pretty strange behaviour to someone who didn't know the whole truth. Sighing to herself Hermione sat down beside the others.

"Morning." She said.

None of them said anything and they all just looked at her for a moment before Remus replied "Good morning Hermione."

Hermione noticed that he looked drained. The same way she felt. She pulled her eyes away from his tired face to look at Lily.

"Lils, I'm sorry. I really am. I didn't mean it. It was another fit. Kind of. It just scared me and I took it out on you."

Lily smiled, "It's okay Hermione. I understand. You know you can tell me anything. I just want you to be all right. We don't even know what this is, you really should go to see Madam Pomfrey or at least Dumbledore."

"You're right. I will later, I promise." Replied Hermione.

"Good." Said Lily a bit too cheerily, "Now what should we do today?" she asked turning back to the boys.

"We could start with breakfast." Murmured a sleepy looking Sirius.

"Breakfast it is. We can't let sleeping beauty go hungry now can we?" teased James.

They all stood and went through the portrait hole. It wasn't until they were down in the entrance hall that Hermione noticed that Remus wasn't amongst them.

Quickly excusing herself she rushed back up to the common room to find him still sitting in front of the fireplace.

"Remus? Aren't you coming to breakfast?" she asked cautiously.

He looked up at her his eyes full of pain.

"Remus! What's the matter?" asked Hermione sitting down beside him and putting her arm around him.

"It's nothing." He muttered.

"Come on now. It can't be nothing." Said Hermione softly, "Please tell me."

"Well alright, but you'll think I'm stupid." laughed Remus.

"No I won't! Now please just tell me." persisted Hermione.

"I had a bad dream last night. It was about Peter. It was night time. We were all in bed asleep and I woke up. I heard someone crying so I got up to see who it was. It was Peter. He was lying in bed crying. I asked him what was wrong and he snapped at me and pulled a dagger out from under his pillow. He stabbed me. Twice. I tried to call out to the others but I couldn't and then I woke up. It's stupid isn't it?"

Hermione who had been staring open mouthed at him the whole time pulled him into a bear hug. "Oh Remus. I'm sorry it was only a dream it's not stupid at all. You shouldn't be upset about it."

Even though she said this she knew it wasn't true. This was definitely something to worry about.. She knew that sometimes dreams were premonitions and she also knew how Peter would eventually turn out. It was too much of a coincidence to be true and perhaps her coming back in time had changed things slightly? Perhaps Peter had already turned?.

"I guess you're right. I just… I just can't get the look in his eyes out of my head. It wasn't the Peter I know. I'm sorry for worrying you. Should we go down to breakfast now?" Remus muttered.

"Only if you're up to it." Said Hermione softly.

"Not really actually. Sorry." He replied looking up into her eyes.

"That's ok. Don't be sorry. I'm just going to run upstairs and grab a few books so I can finish my homework. Maybe you should too, to get your mind off things." Hermione said.

Remus smiled, that was one of the things he liked about Hermione so much, she was someone he could talk to easily and she always seemed to know just what to say to make him feel better.

Hermione smiled back and stood to leave but before she reached the stairs up to the girls' dorm she felt a hand grab her hand and pull her back, turning her around. She was now face to face with Remus.

"Thank you." He whispered before planting a soft kiss on her lips.

**A/N: A thousand million apologies to you all. I'm really sorry I haven't updated in ages. I've just started a new job and I'm working crazy hours. It's madness. Anyways, here's the next chapter, please R & R. Thank you!**

**Fk306 animelover: thank you for your review! As you can see he's alright. Yay!**

**pyro the dark angel: I know, I know. I couldn't resist. Sorry. Thanks for the review!**

**runaway mental patient: my sentiments exactly. Thanks for the review!**

**Kidden: thanks for the review! You have another 6 chapters to go to catch up! Keep reading and reviewing please!**

**Remmy's Gurl: damn you're good! Stop knowing what's gonna happen before I do! It's not fair! Hehe. Cursors have a bad habit of misbehaving don't they? I feel the same way sometimes. Thanks fot the review! Hope you like this chapter too!**

**singingbookfreak: hehe, he's not dead so you can like that part now ;) thanks for the review!**

**PaulC: no where near the climax. I think. Hehe. You'll have to tell me what you meant by the characters being to good. Glad you liked it thanks for the review!**

**need-courage-to-write: finally someone who doesn't want to break my legs because I left it hanging! Thanks siney!**

**ilovefireyredheads: he aint dead yet! Thanks for the review!**


	11. Revelations

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters used hereafter.

CHAPTER 11: REVELATIONS 

Hermione's mind was reeling as she walked through the empty corridors of Hogwarts. Everything that had happened was so confusing. It felt like she had been here a lot longer than she actually had been. Was it only a month since she, Harry and Ron had been attacked and chased by Deatheaters? Only a month since she'd been forced back through time? She shook her head. Maybe her sense of time had become confused, but it must be true. Calendars never lie. Or do they? Now that was just a silly thought. She was being over-paranoid again.

Shaking her head roughly Hermione quickened her pace and hurried in the direction of Dumbledore's office. Taking some of the short cuts Harry and Ron had shown her, it didn't take long before she was standing in front of the gargoyle that guarded the entrance to Dumbledore's office.

Standing there in front of it, staring into it's eyes, Hermione realized that one of the only people who was in any way connected with her former, or rather future life, was Dumbledore. And then a thought struck her. What if the future Dumbledore knew? It was possible. Maybe she was meant to have been sent back in time, or rather not meant but destined to be? What if the future Dumbledore had known but hadn't said anything because it was supposed to be her, it was supposed to happen?

Sighing Hermione realized that there was no way she could find out, unless she managed to get home, but not even her own Dumbledore would know that yet. It was all quite confusing, even for her. Hermione was snapped out of her stupor by a gentle cough from behind her.

"Are you quite all right my dear?" said a kind and slightly amused voice.

Turning sheepishly Hermione came face to face with none other than Dumbledore himself.

"You know, the Gargoyle requires a rather sweet password, excuse the little pun, before it will allow you entrance."

Hermione blushed, "Sorry sir, I was just thinking about things. It really was a very good pun." she added.

"It's quite all right my dear. We all need our time to think and yours just came upon you while you happened to be standing here. Looking for me no doubt. I don't think it was a very good pun. I've never really been that great at them. Sally Calembour, now there was a mistress of puns if ever I saw one. Quite remarkable what she could do with a few simple words." he replied gazing out the window with a far off look in his eye before his eyes moved back to Hermione.

"Shall we then?" he asked.

"Oh, of course sir." Hermione smiled, he really was quite an extraordinary man.

"Very well then, Jelly Slugs." he said to the gargoyle and Hermione watched as it jumped aside to leave an entrance leading to a moving stairway.

"After you my dear" said Dumbledore gesturing for Hermione to go in with his hand.

Hermione stepped onto the staircase and into the office above. It was exactly the same as the office of Dumbledore in her own time. Collections of small silver instruments whizzed and whirred from all around the room, cupboards of potions and other strange instruments lined the walls, pictures of past headmasters and headmistresses snoring loudly, the old sorting hat sitting comfortably on it's shelf and of course...

"Fawkes!" smiled Hermione walking over to the phoenix's perch and stroking his fiery feathers lightly.

"Ah, I see you have been in my office before, or rather will have been" smiled Dumbledore amusedly.

"Yes sir, in the future with Har... with two of my friends. We had a habit of getting into er... situations you could say." she replied.

"Quite so. It is evident that you must have some experience with the abnormal, even to the wizarding world. Otherwise you would not have done as well as you have so far in your situation." he smiled.

"Thank you sir. What I really came to talk to you about today is quite serious though, or at least it could be. Which is why I came to talk to you." said Hermione as she continued to stroke Fawkes.

"Quite." said Dumbledore in a more serious tone, "Please, have a seat and tell me."

"Thank you." said Hermione moving away from Fawkes' perch and sitting in one of the large comfortable chairs in front of Dumbledore's desk.

"Well sir, I guess I should just say it straight out, I've been having these sort of, fits I suppose you could call them."

Dumbledore leaned forwards and clasped his fingers together peering at her over the top of his half moon glasses, a concerned look on his face.

"I sort of," she didn't want to say this, "stop breathing and I see things but I can never remember what they are, I just know they're there. And then last night, I think it was a dream, or maybe a vision or something, it was so real. There was a man. He was standing in the middle of the room but not quite there. His edges were all blurred and he didn't seem to know I was there. He was dressed all in black and then he turned slightly and I saw part of his face and I gasped. He knew I was there then and he turned to face me. He started screaming, it was horrible." her voice quavered slightly as she recalled the pale face with shining red eyes, "sir, I think... I think it was... it was Voldemort."

Dumbledore stood up so quickly that Hermione jumped in shock.

"Are you sure?" he asked, "Are you absolutely sure?"

Hermione nodded.

"How long has this been happening? Does it happen often?" asked Dumbledore coming around the side of the desk.

"The first one was shortly after I left the hospital wing and it's happened only a few times since. The dream was last night." replied Hermione.

"This is quite worrying my dear. Not only because it is harming you, but also because I think that last night was not just a dream."

Dumbledore turned to one of the portraits on the wall "Philleas, will you please contact Alaster for me and ask him to come and see me as soon as possible."

The man in the portrait nodded and silently left through the edge of the frame.

"Alaster Moody?" asked Hermione confused.

"I see you've heard of him. A great auror, the best." Hermione realized that during this time, Mad-Eye Moody was still an auror well respected by the ministry, not like the Moody she knew. The paranoid, disfigured Moody.

"Now my dear," said Dumbledore snapping her out of her thoughts, "I want you to tell me every detail about this vision."

Hermione racked her mind for details but all she could remember was seeing Voldemort, there were no details of where he was.

"I'm sorry sir, all I could see was Voldemort himself. Nothing around him. He did seem to be doing something though. Some sort of spell or incantation perhaps, a ceremony maybe. I couldn't hear anything though. Not until he noticed me and started that dreadful scream. It was so loud, I felt like it was right inside my head."

Dumbledore smiled grimly, "Unfortunately my dear, it quite possibly was and having Voldemort in your head, whether he knows of it or not, is never a good thing."

"Yes sir. I understand that." Said Hermione grimly knowing only too well what Voldemort was capable of doing if he got inside your head.

Harry and Ginny were perfect examples of this. Hermione had watched as Harry had felt like he was going mad while Voldemort constantly invaded his dreams and as the diary version of Voldemorts young self had controlled Ginny and made her do awful things. She didn't want any of that happening to her.

"Hermione?" asked Dumbledore gently.

"Sorry sir, just thinking again." She replied.

"Understandable my dear. There are a few things I must insist upon."

"Anything sir." Said Hermione.

"Hermione, I want you to promise you will come straight to me if anything like this happens again. Even if it is just a daydream in class. We can never be too sure. If I am not here I want you to go to Professor McGonagall. She is your head of house and also the Deputy Headmistress. I also trust her impeccably and will inform her of this immediately. You must also mention this to nobody. No matter how much you think you know them. It is of utmost importance that neither Voldemort nor any of his spies get a hold of this information. Voldemort will no doubt want to know what a sixteen year old girl was doing in his mind and if she saw anything of importance. You could be in grave danger." He finished grimly.

"Yes sir, I understand. I promise to do that." She replied.

"Good then, I suggest that you go now and enjoy the rest of your Saturday. I believe that there is to be an exciting quidditch match after lunch today which involves two of your new friends and no doubt they will want your support." He smiled and opened the door for her.

"Thank you sir. Thank you for listening." Said Hermione.

"Anytime my dear." And he closed the door behind her.

Hermione stood still for a moment or two and realized, this is how Harry deals with everything so well. He has a great mentor to guide him. Smiling to herself despite everything that had happened Hermione descended the stairs and made her way to the great hall for lunch.

**A/N: I finally got time! Yay! I've been away for about the last 2 weeks and before that I was really busy working so I didn't have time to write at all. Now that I'm back I'm really busy again, but today while talking to probably the coolest person I know he helped me to decide, screw it, I'm going to take time to write because if I don't take any time to do fun stuff I'll turn into a boring workaholic. So there we have it, I'm rebelling from my busy life and writing. Apologies to you all and I'll update again real soon, maybe even tomorrow. Please read and review, thanks!**

**need-courage-to-write: thank you for the compliments and the threats, I love getting them from you. The arrangement was me writing it, forgetting to space it and falling asleep straight away. You also get a cookie for spotting that mistake as no doubt my sleepy mind got extremely confuzzled and did that well done.**

**Fk306 animelover: thanks for the review, I'm glad it was too. Although I should have know, hehe.**

**PaulC: thanks for being honest. I didn't like it either, that's why I went back and edited it and used some of your advice too. Spacing is no longer a problem of mine I hope, I just fell asleep before I remembered to. Whoopsies**

**Kidden: thanks for the review, I'm glad you liked it. the spacing was forgotten due to me falling asleep, sorry about that.**

**Remmy's Gurl: hehe, sorry about that. Didn't mean to mislead you. I thought it was about the right time for that scene and it doesn't bother me at all that you guess what I'm going to write next. It's kinda fun actually so you can keep doing it if you want. Sorry this is more than a bit late, you're one of my first and longest reviewers so I value your opinion as always.**

**Raspberri13: thanks for the review! Here's the update!**

**Brittany Malfoy: She certainly will kick ass later, all will be explained in time. Thanks for the review!**

**Missy87: thanks for the review, hope you like this chapter!**

**amrawo: yay! You're back! Hope you had a great time. As you can see I didn't get as many new chapters as I promised done but I'm glad you enjoyed what there was, thanks for the review as always!**

**Hippie Jade: cause I'm completely evil and I love cliffies, here's the next chapter for you, thanks for the review!**


	12. Painful Thoughts

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters used hereafter.

**CHAPTER 12: PAINFUL THOUGHTS**

Hermione rushed back in the direction of the Gryffindor common room feeling as though a huge weight had been lifted off her. Everything that had happened still bothered her, but knowing that Dumbledore was on the case made her feel so much safer than before.

She hurried through the corridors hoping to catch the others so they could all go down to lunch together before the quidditch match. Just like she used to do with Harry and Ron. Harry and Ron… her heart did a flip. Thinking about them gave her a horrible sensation deep in the pit of her stomach. She might never see them again. She probably WOULDN'T see them again. Dumbledore was a great wizard and maybe he could make her feel safe and protect her from dark wizards while she was at Hogwarts, but he couldn't send her back to her own time. Nobody could. Not yet anyway.

Hermione shook herself angrily. Here she was, only just after having gotten the whole thing off her chest, and she was making herself depressed again. Having been lost deep in her own thoughts Hermione's feet had taken over and guided her back to the common room by a second nature and she found herself standing in front of the Fat Lady. "Well dear? Are you going to stand there all day or are you going to give me the password?" Hermione made an apologetic face and quickly said, "Mimblus Mimbletonia". The Fat Lady swung forwards on her hinges admitting her into the common room.

It was nearly deserted except for a solitary figure beside the fireplace that Hermione recognised at once. She grinned, forgetting all her previous thoughts, and strode over towards the figure, whose head was drooping slightly to one side telling her he was asleep. Standing in front of him, she pulled out her wand and muttered a few words that made brilliant blue flames shoot out of the end of it and catch the edge of his robes. Stepping back she prepared herself for his reaction.

At first he just snorted and twitched as the flames slowly crept up, singeing and charring the edges of his robes, but as the flames moved up them, he began to flail about slightly more as though he was having a nightmare, until finally he awoke with a scream and leapt up batting himself to put it out. When this failed he rushed across the room and grabbed a vase that was sitting on the table, chucking down the flowers it held and pouring the water inside over himself. Hermione couldn't control her laughter and bent over double. Looking up at the sound he realised what had happened.

"Think that was funny do you?" he muttered.

Hermione couldn't reply though because she had fallen over laughing and was rolling around on the floor holding her sides. Just as he pulled out his own wand the portrait hole swung open admitting Lily, James, Remus and Peter. They all stopped dead in their tracks, looking from a soaking wet, bright red Sirius to a similarly red Hermione who was rolling around laughing her head off.

"Been playing with fire again, Sirius?" asked James casually.

Sirius scowled at him. "No, James. I haven't. It was her!"

Everyone laughed. Lily helped Hermione, who was still chuckling, to her feet.

"I'm sorry Sirius," she laughed wiping a tear from her eye, "I couldn't resist."

"Obviously not." Glared Sirius, "In future, if you have to wake me, do it the old fashioned way please."

"And miss you screaming like a girl and pouring water over yourself?" grinned Hermione.

Sirius just glared at her again and stomped off in the direction of the boy's dorm.

"He's just annoyed that you outsmarted him." Grinned James.

Remus walked over to where Sirius had thrown down the flowers and picking them up presented them to Hermione,

"M'Lady." He grinned bowing deeply, "Or should that be good sir. Not many young ladies go around setting people on fire."

Hermione laughed and took the flowers, "Why no I believe it's not, but you have to remember, before Lily I never had and girl friends. There was just Har…" she stopped, a lump developing in her throat. "Never mind," she said quickly, "Thank you for the flowers."

"What's wrong Hermione?" asked Lily concerned, "Before me there was who?"

"It doesn't matter. Old friends. I'll never see them again anyway."

She really didn't feel like talking about this just now. Why did everything always remind her of home? 'Because this is home!' she snapped at herself. It was true. This was home. Just with different people.

Remus noticed her reverting into her own thoughts and quickly made to change the subject.

"So, the match this afternoon?" he said loudly his eyes on her pained expression.

"Uh… yeah." Added James, catching on, "You like quidditch Hermione?"

This was not the right thing to say though because Hermione's eyes moved to look at him and her expression changed to an even more pained one. It was too much. James looked too much like Harry and here he was talking about quidditch just like Harry used to… or would.

Lily stepped forwards and took her by the arm.

"Come on, let's go get lunch." And she steered Hermione out through the portrait hole.

When they'd gone James turned to Remus and Peter, "What was that about?"

"I have no idea." Sighed Remus, "I thought I'd, I mean, we'd been getting through to her. At least a little bit."

"You like her don't you? I can tell." Grinned James.

"What? How do you know that? Well, it doesn't matter. I'm just worried about her."

"We all are mate. There's a lot we don't know about her."

"Yeah," replied Remus, "Well, at least she went to Dumbledore about those fits of hers."

"She did?" asked James surprised.

"Yeah, I persuaded her to. I'm glad she did. Well, let's get Sirius and go down to lunch. You guys need to eat before a match."

The two turned and left, forgetting about Peter who was left standing there. Nobody ever noticed him. Maybe it was for the best though? They'd say anything in front of him without noticing which would make it easier to do what Lucius Malfoy wanted. That night still scared him; he'd never forget it. Turning he walked out of the common room and down to lunch.

Meanwhile Lily and a rather dazed Hermione were making their way down to the Great Hall for lunch when they bumped into someone Hermione had hoped she could avoid. There at the bottom of the main staircase stood Lucius Malfoy himself. He had noticed the two and had moved to intercept them.

"Get out of the way Malfoy." Hissed Lily, "Now's not a good time."

"Oh?" he said in a silky voice. "And why not?"

"It's none of your business, now go away before I… before I…" stammered Lily.

"Before you what Evans? Call a teacher? Take points away from Slytherin? It doesn't matter to me in the slightest." He smirked.

"What is it you want?" asked Hermione suddenly catching Lily off guard.

Lucius smirked again and faced her, "I'm curious Granger, how is it that you came to be in this school? Not many transfer so late into their schooling."

Hermione looked up into his stupid smirking face. Why was he asking her this now? What did it matter to him? He was the bastard who did this to her anyway. She was so tempted to just tell him that right now to his face but she knew she shouldn't.

"What's the matter Granger? Cat got your tongue?" he smirked again reminding her of how much she hated him and his son and finally pushing her over the edge.

She couldn't take it any more. Wrenching her arm from Lily's grip she launched herself at him. Her fists pounding at every inch of him she could reach. She couldn't hear anything except her own heart beating painfully against her rib cage.

Suddenly she felt herself being thrown backwards by an invisible force, her back knocking painfully into the banisters of the stairs and all the sound coming flooding back to her ears like an oncoming torrent. People were screaming and shouting and Lily was calling her name.

"Hermione! Hermione! Are you ok?"

Picking herself up Hermione steadied herself on the banisters and looked up. Malfoy was still on the floor, thankfully looking bruised and bloody and standing behind him, wand raised, was a boy with a hooked nose and long, black greasy hair. Snape. His face was expressionless as he stared at her with his penetrating stare.

"Just go." He snarled menacingly as he helped Malfoy to his feet.

Lily grabbed Hermione by the arm and dragged her off in the direction of the hospital wing.

It wasn't until Hermione was sitting on a bed in the hospital wing did she noticed that she was sporting a bloody nose and numerous cuts. She chuckled to herself.

"I don't see anything funny about this." Muttered Lily dabbing a few of the cuts with a damp clothe.

"Well, not really funny. Just ironic." Replied Hermione.

"Ironic?" asked Lily.

"Yeah, it's just that. Well this is the second time I've beaten up a Malfoy without a wand." She'd said it before she realised what she'd done.

"The second time?" asked Lily taken back.

"Um… well… It doesn't matter." Stammered Hermione.

Lily laughed, "Yeah, right. I believe you. There's something going on between you and Malfoy. Something must have happened. How else would you know him and why would you hate him so much?"

Hermione smiled sheepishly, "I guess I haven't exactly been discreet about that have I." "No, not really," smiled Lily now working on Hermione's bloody nose with the cream Madam Pomfrey had given them. Hermione smiled too in spite of herself.

"I can't tell you anything you know?"

Lily's smile faltered slightly, "No, I know you can't but I'm always here for you."

"Thanks Lils." Smiled Hermione just as the door burst open admitting Remus, James, Sirius and Peter.

"What happened?" asked Remus, his face full of concern.

"Oh, nothing," dismissed Lily, "Hermione's just practicing her muggle dulling."

"I am muggle born you know." Grinned Hermione but her grin didn't quite reach her eyes. Thinking of her parents was painful for her but she didn't want to worry the others anymore. This was her problem. Not theirs and she'd have to deal with it herself.

Now she had even more to think about. The dreams and fits, Lucius Malfoy and now, a Snape who obviously hadn't turned spy for Dumbledore yet…

**A/N: Again, I'm really sorry again. I can't keep excusing myself but I am pretty busy right now so I'll just have to update when I can. This chapter actually spent a while just sitting on my computer before I got around to editing it etc. This chapter isn't very action packed but there's a few important things in there that may help tell you what's going to happen, also some important character stuff too. Please read and review.**

**needcouragetowrite: you ain't getting a cookie! Just kidding, you can have one if you're good. Thanks for the review, I hear where you're coming from with the lack of action but it was a necessary chapter in terms of everything coming together, as is this one to an extent.**

**Raspberri13: no, I think you might be confused with another story. She's definitely going to classes. Thanks for the review!**

**PaulC: I don't know how to spell it in that situation either… you really thought this was my best to far? Thanks. I really enjoyed writing it actually. I hope you like this one as much but I dunno, I'm not as happy with it as the last.**

**amrawo: here's the next chap. Sorry about the wait. Glad you liked the twist, I was a bit worried about it but it seems to have worked ok for now.**

**ilovefieryredheads: thanks for the review, I'll try not to get to absorbed in work.**

**Kidden: glad you liked it. thanks for the review!**

**demonic angel23: glad you like it, here's the update!**


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